


Brothers

by TheRedeemer1995



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Adaptation Expansion, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Awesome Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), Badass Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), Badass Naminé (Kingdom Hearts), Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Drive Forms (Kingdom Hearts), F/M, Final Fantasy XIII Characters In Kingdom Hearts, Heartless (Kingdom Hearts) - Freeform, Hope Estheim Was One Of Ansem's Apprentices, I Got A Jar of Dirt, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Kairi & Riku & Sora Friendship (Kingdom Hearts), Keyblade Wielder Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), Keyblade Wielder Naminé (Kingdom Hearts), Keyblade Wielders (Kingdom Hearts), Keyblades (Kingdom Hearts), Kingdom Hearts II - Freeform, Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts II Manga, Kingdom Hearts II Spoilers, Kingdom Hearts Video Games-Kingdom Hearts Manga Fusion, Kingdom Hearts!!! Fill Me With The Power Of Darkness, Mentioned Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts), Mentioned Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Mentioned Xion (Kingdom Hearts), My First Work in This Fandom, Nobodies (Kingdom Hearts) - Freeform, Organization XIII (Kingdom Hearts), People Mistaking Roxas For Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), RokuNami - Freeform, Roxas & Sora Friendship (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas Has A Heart (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas Needs A Hug (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas and Sora Are Siblings (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas and Sora Co-Existing (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas and Xion Are Siblings (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas-centric (Kingdom Hearts), Sokai, Sora Is a Ray of Sunshine (Kingdom Hearts), Sora Needs a Hug (Kingdom Hearts), Sora-centric (Kingdom Hearts), The Author Regrets Nothing, Ventus Needs a Hug (Kingdom Hearts), Why is the Rum Gone?, Xion Makes A Good Other Too (Kingdom Hearts), rikushi, sleep is for the weak
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:06:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 25,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25553275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRedeemer1995/pseuds/TheRedeemer1995
Summary: Shortly after Sora awakens from his long slumber, Roxas breaks free and becomes a separate entity once more. Armed with a heart of his own and his true Keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion, Roxas decides to combine forces with his "brother" and his companions, Donald Duck and Goofy, fighting alongside them during their adventures across the worlds as they continue the fight against the Heartless and the apparent newcomers in the ongoing struggles between the forces of light and darkness: the enigmatic group of Nobodies known as Organization XIII, a clandestine group that Roxas was once a member of until he decided to leave for a reason that's a bit muddled in his memory... and unfortunately for Roxas, there's only one way a member of the Organization would ever be allowed to depart from their ranks so easily.And yet, even with Roxas' aid in both combat and in solving the riddle of the Nobodies and Organization XIII, more, increasingly complicated and perplexing riddles begin to rise to the surface to take their place… like, who the heck is this "Ventus" or "Ven" guy people keep mistaking Roxas for?
Relationships: Axel & Roxas & Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Axel & Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Axel & Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Hope Estheim & Ienzo, Hope Estheim & Lightning, Hope Estheim/Lightning, Kairi & Naminé (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi & Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi & Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Naminé & Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Naminé & Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Naminé & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Naminé/Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Riku & Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas & Xion (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 71





	1. Two Become One, Then Two Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings, prospective readers, and welcome my latest creation, and my first non-crossover Kingdom Hearts project here on AO3. Admittedly, I did post this endeavor on fanfiction some time ago, when I caught wind of certain developments, plus the impending release of KHIII, I decided to hold back and see where, as Luxord would likely put it, the dice fell after they were cast.
> 
> All right, here's the game plan. Naturally, this follows the Final Mix version of Kingdom Hearts II, so that means Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy will be going toe-to-toe with the Absent Silhouettes, Terra aka the Lingering Sentiment or Lingering Will or whatever you want to call it. However, we will not be doing the Data Battles, the battle with Sephiroth, Mushroom XIII, or the Cavern of Remembrance, although I may end up doing those in a sort of "bonus feature" type set of one-shots. Additionally, I have plans to incorporate certain portions of the Kingdom Hearts II manga. Yes, that is a thing and you can get all four volumes of it from the Google Play store (not certain about iTunes or Amazon) for like, $30. Money well spent, and it makes Kairi look a bit less like the damsel in distress the games make her out to be, like how she actually TRIED to escape Organization XIII's clutches by tricking the Dusks guarding her cell into opening it. Granted, Dusks aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, but dammit, at least she TRIED to escape, that's what matters. Plus, unlike in the Kingdom Hearts canon, and I will go ahead and confirm that Sora has done this already, but both he and Roxas will finally be able to, as the song goes, kiss da girl. Also, I'm gonna go ahead and confirm that Sora and Kairi are very much an official couple already in this AU, and have locked lips during the events of the endgame of KH1
> 
> Speaking of Atlantica… I very much plan to do that world. However, rest assured, it will NOT be what I call "Kingdom Hearts: The Musical." It will follow the story of that world from the game, yes, but it will be a proper world with kicking names and taking ass, or something like that. Similarly, I plan on giving Sora, Donald, and Goofy modified versions of their KHIII Caribbean outfits when they get to that world, because why the Hell not? I will also be having Donald and Goofy take on human forms in the Land of Dragons and Port Royal, as those two worlds don't really seem like the kind of place where you'd see anthropomorphic ducks and dogs, things like Mushu and the Cursed Pirates notwithstanding.
> 
> Now, before I forget, let me just go ahead and confirm a couple of things, right here, right now. First off, Roxas won't be getting any Drive Forms, mainly because Yen Sid and the Good Fairies didn't know that Roxas would be turning up, although he, Naminé, and Kairi will be getting them in later installments based on the games. Also, I very much plan on still having that fight from Final Mix that was supposed to be against Roxas for control of Sora's body… but, since Roxas is a separate entity again, that battle will instead take place against a certain Replica that starts with an X.
> 
> Now then, without further ado, let us start the game!

_Chapter I_

_Two Become One, Then Two Again_

"Sora!” warbled a very scratchy sounding male voice.

"Sora, wake up!” called a second male voice that seemed to belong to somebody who wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.

Donald Duck and Goofy looked on nervously, thinking that there was something wrong when the pod containing one of their dearest friends did not do anything in response to their calls, when suddenly, they heard machinery coming to life. Seconds later, the pod flashed for an instant, and then opened up like a flower setting into bloom, until it revealed a drowsy young man of around fourteen wearing a much too small red, blue, and white outfit with large yellow shoes rubbing the last fringes of sleep from his eyes before stretching with a yawn. When his eyes came to rest on some of the people in front of him, he immediately jumped out of the pod, stumbling into Donald and Goofy's arms when he landed, clearly not quite used to movement after sleeping for so long, and smiled brightly as he hugged the two who caught him. 

"Donald! Goofy!" cheered Sora once he was upright again.

The three then danced about in a circle, all happy to see each other again, until a long yawn brought the celebration to a pause so they could all look to Sora's shoulder just in time to see none other than Jiminy Cricket climbing out of the hood on Sora's jacket. 

"That was some nap," said Jiminy as he jumped down onto the floor.

"You mean, we were asleep?" asked Sora

"I guess we musta been, or I don't think we'd be so drowsy," replied Jiminy with a small shrug.

"When do ya think we went to sleep?" asked Goofy.

"Uhh…" Donald started to say only to helplessly shrug.

"Let's see…" Sora muttered as he began to recall what he and the others had recently done, hoping it might help them figure out what had happened to put them all to sleep. "We found Kairi… defeated Ansem… restored peace to the worlds… oh yeah, and then we went to look for Riku and the king. I think that’s right so far… and then…”

The four were silent once again, each of them trying to remember but drawing up nothing but a blank. Clearly, whoever or whatever had put them to sleep, they had done one heck of a number on their memories.

Thankfully, Goofy thought of something that might shed some light on the subject. "What does your journal say, Jiminy?" he asked the small cricket who had been chronicling their adventures. 

Pulling the thick leather book out of one of his pockets, Jiminy flipped it open to the section where the answers to their question.

"Gee, there's only one sentence…" revealed Jiminy. "'Thank Naminé.' Hmm… I wonder who that is?"

“Some journal that is,” Donald grumbled in annoyance.

"W-well, what do ya say we find out where we are?” suggested Jiminy, ignoring Donald's jab.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” said Sora as he and the others began to make their way towards the room's only exit. That is, until something inside Sora surged painfully, bringing the hero of the Keyblade to his knees and causing Goofy, Donald, and Jiminy to cast concerned looks at him. 

“Sora, uh, are you okay?” asked Goofy, concern evident in his voice.

“I… I’m fine!” Sora grunted in pain, when in truth he felt as though he was anything but fine. It almost felt as though his heart, no, his very being, was being forcefully ripped in two. As Sora’s pain reached its peak, a glowing silhouette of what seemed to be another person began to separate from him. Finally, when the pain became almost unbearable and the glowing silhouette was almost completely separated, Sora blacked out and knew no more once again, just as the glowing silhouette became a completely separate person with short blonde hair wearing a white jacket with a black hoodie underneath, khaki pants, and black and white sneakers, much to Jiminy, Donald and Goofy’s shock and awe.

“Uh… what just happened?” asked Goofy to no one in particular.

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it's something screwy… and hey, doesn't that guy look just like Ven? You know, the one we met ten or eleven years back, who was fighting that Vanitas guy when they struck each other down, and whose heart never came back?" asked Donald as he indicated the blonde who had just seperated from Sora.

"Hmm… you know, he actually DOES look just like Ven… but, somethin' tells me that he's not, though, because if he was, then why'd he pop outta Sora like that? Shouldn't he have just gone back to his body?" pondered Goofy thoughtfully. "Then again, Ven's body has been hidden away somewhere for the last ten years, and he's supposedly been asleepin' all that time… maybe he doesn't have a body to go back to anymore."

“Well, let's see if we can’t get these two up and see what’s going on,” suggested Jiminy.

Donald nodded and pulled out his magician’s stave, before realizing it was his standard-issue stave, which definitely wasn’t the last stave he’d remembered using. “Wah! Where’s _Save the Queen_?!”

Goofy checked his pack and realized that his most powerful shield, _Save the King_ , was missing as well. “Well, golly gee willikers, what happened to our weapons?!” cried Goofy.

“I think it’s best we save that for another time, fellas. Right now, we need to wake these two up!” said Jiminy.

“Right,” said Donald with a nod before casting his healing spell, causing the two boys on the ground to begin to stir.

_A Few Moments Later..._

As consciousness slowly and unexpectedly returned to him, the blonde young man on the ground, who was named Roxas Seiiki, began to realize that he felt… different somehow. A loud thumping reached his ears from somewhere… inside him.

The Nobody gasped, his eyes flying open when he realized what the thumping actually was: a heartbeat. Somehow, in some way, by rejoining himself with Sora, he had managed to acquire his very own, beating heart. Which meant…

 _Naminé was right… I didn’t disappear… I’m whole… which means… I exist. I finally, truly, completely, exist…_ thought Roxas as tears began to well up in his eyes as he placed his hand over his chest, where he could feel the steady rhythm of existence and life pounding against it.

Speaking of eyes, he felt four sets of them upon him. Looking in the direction he sensed the eyes coming from, he saw four figures he immediately recognized from the dreams he'd been having lately gazing down upon him.

“Why are you crying?” asked Goofy, concern evident in his voice.

“I’m not, I’m fine.” Roxas said, wiping his eyes as he spoke before pulling himself into a sitting position.

“You got a name?” asked Donald.

“Yeah. I'm Roxas. Roxas Seiiki. And who are you guys?" Roxas asked the four individuals gathered before him with a small smile, although he full-well knew the answer, thanks to Naminé chaining Sora's memories back together having been affecting him as well.

“Donald Duck,” warbled Donald with a smile on his face.

“Name’s Goofy!” Goofy declared proudly.

“Cricket’s the name. Jiminy Cricket at your service!” said Jiminy.

“I’m Sora Hikari, but something tells me you know that already,” said Sora, rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke. “So… any particular reason you separated yourself from my body, Roxas?”

Roxas chuckled. “Right. Seems I have some explaining to do… but first, let’s get out of this place,” said Roxas as he pulled himself up off the ground and started heading towards the exit to the room.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy all cast glances at each other, clearly unsure what to make of this… somehow familiar-looking stranger who had inexplicably spawned from the chosen wielder of the _Kingdom Key._

“Well, he certainly seems eager to get out of here,” said Sora.

“Do you guys think we can trust him?” asked Donald.

“All I know is I don’t wanna fall asleep again, so I say we follow him,” said Goofy, marching towards the exit.

Seeing no other option at the moment, Sora and Donald followed Goofy and Roxas out of the room and out of the mansion.

_A Short While Later…_

As Roxas, Sora, Donald, and Goofy made their way out of the forest and into the town proper, the blonde felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him. Everything was exactly the way he remembered it before he had joined himself with Sora in order to become complete and awaken the Keybearer of the _Kingdom Key._

 _Except, this Twilight Town is the real deal, not some computer simulation,_ thought Roxas, a small, sad smile on his face before he was pulled out of his thoughts by Sora shouting.

"Hey, guys! Come and have a look at this!" the spiky brunette called to his companions, waving over to them from a corner that Roxas recalled leading to the town's Tram Commons. Upon rounding said corner, both Roxas and Sora's faces lit up with bright smiles at the sight before them.

"It's a festival!" the Nobody and his original persona exclaimed at the same time before they both took off running at the same time in giddy excitement, much to Donald's annoyance.

"Come on, Goofy, we have to go after 'em-" Donald started to say, only to find that Goofy had somehow gotten himself some cotton candy, a festival mask, and was currently playing one of the games they had at the festival.

Heaving a frustrated sigh, Donald marched off through the crowd of people at the festival in frustration, looking for Sora and Roxas among the throng of people at the festival. However, he had only been at it for a few moments when he found his attention diverted by something else.

"Why you little- how are you gonna fix this?! Your elbow rammed into me, and now look! You made me mess up!" barked a rough and bossy voice from nearby, causing Donald to turn his head in the voice's direction to find two people getting into a fight nearby. From the looks of things, it seemed to have been caused when one of the aggressors, a young man with wavy blonde hair wearing a pair of camouflage print pants, a gray vest with a black muscle shirt and a necklace with a wooden pendant underneath, and black and gray sneakers, had accidentally bumped into the second person, who likewise had blonde hair tucked underneath a black beanie, and wore a white, sleeveless jacket that reached down to his ankles with a blue and white crop-top vest underneath, although it now had the addition of what looked like frosting and sprinkles from the nearby cookie decoration booth, and dark baggy pants that were tucked into his black combat boots.

As the fight continued to escalate, Donald started to make his way over towards the two boys in the hopes of keeping them from coming to blows, only for a familiar voice to stop him in his tracks. 

"Stop it!" called Sora as he and Roxas approached the two quarreling boys. Sora was wearing what looked like a carnival mask and carrying small water balloon of some kind, and a thing of cotton candy, while Roxas had a stuffed toy version of Mog the Moogle, the star from a cartoon chronicling his time travelling misadventures using an "artefact" known as Etro's Gate recognizable by the pink crystal atop the Moogle's antenna where the usual red pompom was on most Moogles, a fedora that was in the same style as the rest of his outfit and actually worked out nicely with said outfit, and a skyblue bar of what looked like some kind of ice cream in an unfamiliar flavor.

"What's your problem?" snapped the boy in the black beanie.

"My problem is that you're making an issue out of something that was clearly an accident, so quit fighting and grow up already!" Sora said as he removed his mask and shot an annoyed look at the boy in the black beanie. Roxas, for his part, couldn't help but roll his eyes. Whether this was because he was having a case of the Mondays after having been asleep for a year and some change, or he was actually irritated by what was going on between the two guys before him, the fact remained that his original persona was beating a dead horse by trying to get Seifer Villiers and Hayner Estheim to get along and stop fighting.

This fact was quickly proven when the boy in the beanie, Seifer, turned his glare on Sora and grabbed a hold of him from the front of his much-too-small jacket. "Maybe I would consider listening to some snot nosed outsider if he could actually find some clothes in his size!" spat Seifer.

Sora glared at Seifer intensely for a few moments while Donald, having been rejoined by Goofy while this exchange was taking place, made their way towards the scuffle that was taking place. However, before either the magician or the knight could get close enough to intervene, Sora proceeded to throw his water balloon in his face, disorienting Seifer long enough for the spiky haired brunette to sock Seifer in the face before his cotton candy into his mouth and snapping his carnival mask off his thumb, stinging the boy in the black beanie in the face as it made contact.

Needless to say, it took a few moments for Seifer to come to his senses after the onslaught. Once he had, and after he had spat out the cotton candy in his mouth, Seifer stormed off from the three boys while snarling, "You'll pay for this!"

As Sora watched Seifer storm off with an expression that clearly read that Seifer was more than welcome to put it on his tab and Donald and Goofy finished making their way towards Sora and Roxas, the boy Seifer had been quarreling with prior to Sora's intervention, Hayner, took the opportunity to speak up. 

"Dude… that was awesome! Way to go!" he laughed as Sora and Roxas turned to look at him, the latter with a small sad smile as he looked at his best friend from another life.

"Agreed. You must have nerves of steel to even try to humiliate Seifer like that, let alone stand up to him," said another male voice from nearby, causing Sora and Roxas to turn in the voice's direction, and for the latter's smile to turn even sadder somehow.

Approaching the three boys with their own trinkets from the carnival was a heavyweight boy with black hair wearing a red jersey with a white t-shirt underneath, blue jeans, blue and white shoes, and a black headband with gray lining. Alongside the chubby boy was a girl with brown hair wearing an orange tanktop with a white floral pattern, khaki-colored capris, orange socks, and cream-and-yellow shoes with black laces.

"So, I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that the two of you are new around here, right?" asked the heavyweight boy.

"More or less," Roxas replied, his friendly smile still not reaching all the way up to his face. While it was nice to know that Hayner, Pence, and Olette did in fact exist in the real Twilight Town, it was still a painful reminder that, until this moment, the three of them had never actually met until now.

"Cool. I'm Pence Dragoon, by the way," the heavyweight boy, Pence, introduced himself.

"Hayner Estheim, nice to meet ya," Hayner said with a curt nod before looking over at Roxas, an odd thought coming into mind as he looked at him. "You know, you look kinda familiar… have I seen you around before?"

"Maybe in passing, but… I can honestly say that this is the first time that I've ever met any of you face-to-face like this," replied Roxas.

After thinking about it for a moment, Hayner shrugged as he turned to leave. "Right, well, whatever. I'd love to stay and do a meet-and-greet, but I got stuff to do right now, so I'll catch ya later."

And with that, Hayner walked, unaware of the disapproving look that the lone female of the group was giving him before she spoke up.

"Sorry about him. Hayner's not really such a bad guy, but he does take time to really warm up to people. My name's Olette Juniper. Hey, did you two finish up the summer homework yet? Independent studies are the worst, huh?" asked Olette.

"Tell me about it," Roxas grumbled while Sora, Donald, and Goofy all just exchanged confused looks with one another, not sure what they were talking about.

"So, what're your names?" asked Pence.

"I'm Roxas Seiiki, and these are my friends, Sora Hikari, Donald Duck, and Goofy… actually, I'm not sure what Goofy's last name is," admitted Roxas.

"Well, for reference, it's actually Goof, but it gets to be kinda a mouthful sometimes, so I prefer to just go by Goofy," explained Goofy. 

Upon hearing those names, Pence and Olette's eyes lit up in recognition. "We actually just met someone who was looking for people named Sora, Donald, and Goofy… he didn't say anything about a Roxas, though…" said Olette.

Sora raised an eyebrow in confusion at this information. "For me, Donald, and Goofy?" he asked the two teens standing in front of him.

"Yeah, and he sure seemed like he was in a hurry," confirmed Pence. "He had this black hooded coat on, so I couldn't see his face, but he had these big round ears and was probably about as tall as my waist."

Hearing that the person Pence and Olette had bumped into that was looking for his original persona and his companions was wearing a black coat with a hood that concealed his face would have made Roxas think that someone from Organization XIII was after them, if it wasn't for the "big round ears" and the hooded individual's height. Roxas may only have a few bits and piece from his time as the thirteenth member of Organization XIII and holder of the title "The Key of Destiny," but he knew for a fact that none of his former associates had such traits, unless there had been a Number XIV that he didn't know about…

Roxas felt something ping in his mind at the thought of there being a fourteenth member of Organization XIII… why did it feel like there actually _had_ been a "Number XIV" among the Organization's ranks at one point? And why did the thought make him feel so sad, angry, and guilty, as though he had lost someone he cared about like a sibling to some horrible tragedy caused by his own hand…?

Sora, Donald, and Goofy, meanwhile, had their own thoughts come to mind about this black-clad individual, namely because of the fact that ears like those could only belong to the one person in all the worlds that could possibly have been looking for them.

"The king!" Donald exclaimed in excitement.

"Yep! It's gotta be him!" agreed Goofy.

"Where'd you see him?" asked Sora.

"At the station," replied Pence.

"Got it, thanks a bunch!" said Roxas as he, Sora, Donald, and Goofy started to make their way through the festival in search of the station Pence and Olette had mentioned, only for Roxas to stop and turn around towards Pence and Olette. "Hey, if you guys are still looking for a topic for your assignment, I overheard a few folks here at the festival mentioning something called 'the Seven Wonders of Twilight Town.' Maybe you could look into that?"

Pence and Olette thought Roxas' suggestion over a few moments before they both grinned in excitement. "That's a great idea, Roxas!" said Pence.

"And even if these 'Wonders' don't turn out to be all that wonderful, we could still make it sound good if we write about all the work we did!" added Olette. "Thanks, Roxas!"

"No problem. I should probably go and catch up with the others," said Roxas as he turned on his heel and took off after Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

_A Short While Later..._

When the quartet arrived at Station Heights, they immediately sensed something was wrong, judging the fact that the station looked as though it was completely abandoned, although it might have just been closed for the festival. But, sure enough, their first instinct was quickly proven to be correct when several strange white creatures appeared out of thin air, wriggling and moving about on the ground like one of those inflatable people you’d see at car dealerships, as well as through the air.

“Wah! What are these things?! Some new kinda Heartless?” cried Donald as he pulled out his stave.

“They sure don’t look like any kinda Heartless I’ve ever seen,” said Goofy as he pulled out his shield, ready for a fight.

“Well, whatever these things are, they don’t look like they’re here to make friends,” said Sora as he summoned his Keyblade, known as the _Kingdom Key_ , into his hand. “And in that case, they picked the wrong crew to mess with!”

“You said it!” said Roxas, summoning forth his twin Keyblades, _Oathkeeper_ in his right, and _Oblivion_ in his left, giving both weapons a twirl for effect, a feat that did not go unnoticed by Sora.

“You can use two Keyblades?! Why can’t I use two Keyblades?” said Sora before he tried summoning a second Keyblade, but to no avail, just before one of the strange white creatures lunged at him, forcing him to block the attack.

“Fight now, compare abilities later!” said Roxas as he struck down two of the strange creatures, one with each Keyblade.

The group of four heroes valiantly fought back as best as they could against their strange attackers, and although the four warriors had managed to take down as many of the strange enemies as they could, but due to the somewhat sorry shape they were in, with Roxas having just been separated from Sora after merging with him to make them both of them whole once more, while Sora himself had not only just gone through an extremely painful separation process, but had only just woken up from a long slumber much like Donald and Goofy, it wasn’t long before they were on their last legs. 

Roxas collapsed onto one knee, using one of his Keyblades as a crutch to hold himself up as sweat poured off him like a waterfall. Donald and Goofy, meanwhile, had passed out and collapsed onto the ground as Sora did the same, although unlike his animal companions, he was still somewhat conscious.

The strange white creatures before the defeated heroes stood wriggling back and forth as though they were doing some sort of dance for a few moments before one of them lunged at Sora, who raised his Keyblade in a desperate attempt to defend himself. 

However, before the attack could make contact, a small figure in black dropped down from above, and made quick work of each of the strange creatures. It was difficult to really keep track of this figure's movements, even though both Roxas and Sora had managed their eyes open so that they could watch, but it was still easy to see when he jumped and spun around the creatures before ending them with each strike of his blade. The last two creatures fell when the mystery figure jumped up into the air, and struck them both down before somersaulting around and landing on his feet again, with his back facing the group and his arms spread out like he was ready for another fight. Since their rescuer had finally stopped moving, and there did not seem to be any more enemies coming to attack them, Sora, Roxas, and the now-conscious Donald and Goofy, finally managed to get a good look at said individual, and even though he was mostly obscured by the hood of the black coat he was wearing, which Roxas recognized as the standard issue attire for Organization XIII, they were still able to figure out who he was when they took notice of his more obvious features. The first was his rather large, round ears, while the second was the fact that he was wielding a Keyblade that looked almost exactly like the _Kingdom Key,_ except with a golden blade and a silver guard.

"Your Majesty?!" Donald exclaimed as he and Goofy pounced on top of Sora and pinned the boy to the ground as they tried to get a better look at the King of Disney Castle.

"Shh!" King Mickey hushed Donald. "You gotta board the train and leave town! There's someone waiting for you, he'll help get you up to speed on what's going on in the worlds. The train knows the way there," the mouse explained before pulling out a pink pouch. "Here, this is for Sora. I can't go back with you guys just yet. I've got some unfinished business to take care of first."

Roxas let out a gasp of recognition at the sight of the pouch the king was holding out to Sora, recognizing it as the one the pickpocket in the Organization outfit had pilfered off of him in the virtual Twilight Town. "How'd you get that-?" Roxas started to say, only for the king to have already started running off towards the town.

"The King… was that really him?" asked Sora.

"Yep, I know it was!" cheered Goofy.

"Now we know he's okay!" warbled Donald happily.

Roxas, meanwhile, had noticed that Sora had crossed his arms in thought. "You okay, Sora? You suddenly look like you've got a lot of questions on your mind," he asked his original persona.

"Well, it's just that…" Sora started to say before he turned to Donald and Goofy. "The King was locked in the Realm of Darkness with Riku when we defeated Ansem and sealed the Door to Darkness, right?"

"Uh-huh," confirmed Goofy with a nod.

"But, we just saw him… and if the King is here, then that must mean Riku's here too!" exclaimed Sora, excitement in his voice.

"Yeah, he's gotta be!" warbled Donald.

Roxas gave a frown as he looked towards the ground. One of the few, faded memories he had of his tenure in Organization XIII was facing and defeating someone named "Riku" in combat after having combined forces with him against the Heartless and Nobodies that the Organization had sent after him after he turned on them, even if the exact reason why he had betrayed Organization XIII was a bit muddled in his memory in regards as to whether it had something to do with Kingdom Hearts, Sora himself, or both. At least, that's what his memories seemed to indicate, as the last bit of the battle he could remember was Riku on the ground, demanding to know why he had the Keyblade, to which Roxas had told him to shut up before swinging _Oathkeeper_ at him. He just hoped that when Sora found out that tidbit, he didn't assume that by "defeating" Riku, he had struck Riku down… or that Roxas eventually found out that he actually _had_ struck Riku down.

Roxas was pulled out of his thoughts by Donald asking Sora what he was going to do now.

"Well, I'm gonna go look for Riku. Then he and I can go back to the islands together. Kairi's there waiting for us," replied Sora.

“Well, I’ve got nowhere else to go, honestly speaking, so how about I tag along with you?” said Roxas.

“Works for me. The more the merrier,” said Sora before returning his attention to Donald and Goofy. “What about you guys? What are you two gonna do?"

Donald and Goofy both groaned a little in response. "Gawrsh, Sora. Do ya have to ask?" asked Goofy, his tone of voice indicating that the answer to Sora's question should be obvious, even if he had just woken up from a long slumber.

While Donald and Goofy might have expected a serious answer or even a joke from Sora or Roxas, the only reaction the two Keyblade Wielders could give was to uncontrollably laugh at the two, much to Donald's annoyance.

"Hey! What's so funny?!" the duck sorcerer demanded as he jumped up and down in anger.

"Sorry, it… it's just… your faces!" said Sora as he clutched his chest in an attempt to control his chuckles.

"That's gotta be one of the silliest things I've ever seen," said Roxas as he kept laughing right along with Sora.

That prompted Donald and Goofy to turn to look at each other, and while they did see that their expressions were meant to look as though they were deadpan or indignant, they had instead come out looking completely ridiculous, causing them to join the Keybearers in laughing at their silly expressions. Eventually, the laughter did have to die down so they could make their next move.

"Well guys, looks like we're sticking together for one more journey," said Sora, looking at the assembled quartet as a whole. "And this time with another friend joining us… so…where are we going again?"

"We hafta board the train," replied Goofy.

"Yeah, just like the King just told us two seconds ago," said Roxas with an amused smile on his face as he spoke.

"Oh, yeah," said Sora with a smile that did not seem the least bit sheepish, drawing a tired sigh from Donald while Roxas could not help but roll his eyes a little before the four of them entered the train station.

The minute the group walked inside, Roxas instantly caught sight of the Ghost Train waiting at the platform. As they looked at the extravagant-looking train, the four of them somehow knew that it was the train that the King was talking about, the one that would take them to whoever it was that was waiting for them and would bring them up to speed on what was going on in the worlds.

“I’ll get us our tickets,” said Sora as he approached the teller booth, only to stop when he heard someone shouting to wait, prompting the group to turn around to see Hayner, Pence, and Olette rushing to catch up with them.

"What're you guys doing here?" asked Roxas, a confused expression on his face as the three friends

"We came to see you off. It… just seemed like something we oughta do," explained Pence.

"Oh… really? Thanks," said Roxas, a small, sad smile on his face as he looked at his friends from another life. It felt good to know that the real versions of his old friends were every bit the good people he remembered them to be, but at the same time, he felt really sad because of it, and the fact they had never truly met before today.

"Hey, Roxas…" Hayner started to say, only to find himself unable to finish for some strange reason.

"What's up?" asked Roxas as he looked over at Hayner, a curious expression on his face as he looked at his best friend from another life.

Hayner seemed to struggle with how to phrase what he was about to say, only to fall short of the mark and ultimately reply with, "Nothing. Forget about it."

"If you're sure," Roxas said with a shrug. If Hayner truly was the real version of his best friend from the virtual Twilight Town, then it was a safe bet that whatever was on his mind would come out eventually.

The sound of a boarding alarm rang throughout the station caused the group to snap to attention. Ghost Train or not, there was no telling if it would wait for them forever or not, but it was a safe bet to assume that it wouldn't.

"You should hurry and get your tickets," Olette prompted Sora and the others.

Sora nodded and returned his attention to the teller and made to buy their tickets. Upon seeing the pink munny pouch in Sora's hands, Olette let out a confused gasp, pulling everyone's attention over to her as she pulled out her own pouch, as if to make sure that it was still there. 

Upon seeing that both Sora and Olette somehow had the exact same munny pouch, a wave of confusion spread through both parties and their friends.

"They're the same…" the knight said with a thoughtful expression while Roxas fidgeted in his spot, knowing full well the reason as to why there were two of the exact same, hand-made, munny pouches.

Sora, while he was confused about this situation as well, decided to shrug it off for the time being. "Four tickets please," the spiky brunette told the teller.

As Sora and the teller bartered, Roxas looked up at the platform and quickly became overcome with a sense of foreboding. As his original persona approached him with their tickets, Roxas could quickly tell that Sora was sharing the exact same feeling that he was.

"You know, Sora… I… can't really help but shake the feeling that… I'm never gonna see this town again…" Roxas revealed to Sora with a sad expression on his face.

"You know… I don't really get why myself, considering I've never even heard of this world before, let alone visited it, but… I actually kinda feel the same way…" revealed Sora before another boarding alarm sounded, prompting Sora and Roxas to snap out of their moments of contemplation and made them realize they needed to skedaddle.

After giving Donald and Goofy their tickets, Sora and Roxas exchanged very brief good-byes with the gang from Twilight Town before starting to board the train out of town, only to stop in his tracks as Hayner called out to them.

"Hey, Roxas… you sure we haven't met before?" he asked the blonde, a thoughtful expression on his face as he spoke.

As much as the blonde wanted to say yes, Roxas knew that it was not a good idea to give that answer, or explain the reasons behind it, lest his old friends think he was crazy. "Pretty sure we haven't. But, if we did… I get the feeling we probably would’ve been best friends. Why do you ask?" Roxas said with a puzzled expression on his face.

Hayner thought about it for a few moments, trying to figure out what to say once again before ultimately giving a shrug and replying with a simple "I dunno."

Assuming that was the end of it, Roxas and Sora turned to board the train only to stop when they heard Pence's voice.

"Hey, Sora. Are you okay? You're…" the heavyweight boy asked, concern evident in his voice as he pointed at Sora's face.

Following Pence's finger, the spiky brunette reached up and found that he had a tear running down his face.

"Weird," said Sora as he examined his wet finger tips. "Don't know where that came from…"

 _I do, though…_ thought Roxas as he fought to keep his own tears from falling.

"Come on. Pull it together," said Hayner as Sora rubbed his face with his sleeve to clean up his face.

"Right," Sora said as he smiled back with a nod. He then turned to the Twilight Town trio as he started to board the train, and waved as he said, "Well…we'll see ya."

Roxas spared one last wave to the three friends before boarding the train as well, and they all watched on opposite sides as the door slid closed. With a faint hiss of steam, the train slowly departed from the station, and then began racing off down the tracks, leaving the station behind.

As the train continued down the tracks, Donald and Goofy watched the city and the countryside go by through the windows while Sora hovered near the entrance of the train, a depressed expression on his face as he looked out the window, something that Roxas was quick to pick up on.

"You okay?" Roxas asked his original persona, concern evident in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm okay, it's just…" Sora said as he pulled out a small blue crystal sphere that Roxas immediately recognized, although he opted not to say it. "I'm sad. I don't know why, but… it feels like I'm leaving Destiny Islands behind, except Riku, Kairi, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie are still there, and I might never see them again…"

Roxas nodded in understanding. "You know… I actually feel the same way… Twilight Town, Hayner, Pence, Olette… they all remind me of somewhere I called home for what feels like the longest time, where my best friends and I went on so many adventures… well, at least, what adventures could be found in a town like that…" he said, his own voice laced with sadness, something that Donald and Goofy were quick to pick up on. 

"We'll be back," said Donald, reassuring both of the boys present.

"Yeah, we can go visit Hayner and those guys again!" Goofy added on.

“Yeah… you're right,” said Sora, before returning to his seat and gazing intently at Roxas. “But, in the meantime… Roxas, I think you’ve got some explaining to do. You know, about the whole separating from my body thing.”

Roxas sighed. "I know, and I promise I will explain everything to you later, just as soon as we get to wherever it is that King Mickey sent us off to… because something tells me that whoever it is that's waiting for us there will need to hear my story as much as you guys do…"

_Meanwhile…_

Two solitary figures sat in the relative gloom of the ruined Parlor of the Old Mansion deep in the woods of Twilight Town. One of them was clad in the hooded black leather coat, black pants, black boots, and black leather gloves that were the standard issue attire for the leadership of Organization XIII, while the second man, who was sitting in an old chair, was wearing a long, red cape with a quadrate cross cut taken out at the chest that was outlined with yellow at the edges, a black shirt with a white symbol on it, grey, segmented armor over his sides and abdomen, a long, black cloth lined with yellow, with several decorative straps pinned onto it, his face concealed by red bandages that wrapped around his head, through which only a single, piecing orange eye shone through.

"They've left," the hooded man, known only as Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, said in his deep, baritone voice.

"And it seems that against all odds, rhyme, or reason, Roxas has become a separate entity once more…" muttered the man in the red bandages, known as 'Darkness in Zero,' or DiZ for short. "Perhaps he was right after all… his heart, as remarkable and impossible that is it is that a Nobody of all things was able to somehow cultivate one of his own, truly does belong to him… perhaps Roxas having a heart has something to do with Sora having been a Heartless for such a short span of time… or perhaps it is tied with the reason why Roxas looks nothing like Sora, despite clearly being his Nobody… then again, hearts, what they are, why they are, how they are… there's no true way of knowing anything about the heart… I learned that the hard way a long time ago…"

"That is one theory… it could also have something to do with how, even as a mere Shadow Heartless, Sora still seemed to maintain some sense of his own identity… perhaps that led to Roxas and maybe even Naminé to develop their own identities… regardless, now that they've left Twilight Town, I should be on my way as well," said Ansem as he opened a Corridor of Darkness.

DiZ nodded solemnly as Ansem proceeded to enter through the portal. "We shall meet again…" he said.

Once he fully immersed himself in the Dark Corridor, Ansem emerged in Twilight Town's Sunset Terrace, where he found two people waiting there for him. Or, more accurately, two Nobodies waiting for him.

"Well, I guess that's that," said Axel, a tall, wiry thin young man in his late teens with a large, bushy mop of spiky red hair clad in the usual attire of Organization XIII. Joining him was a girl with pale skin, soft blue eyes, platinum blonde hair that reached down to the middle of her back wearing a lacy white dress and a pair of flip-flops with a sketchpad on her lap, and an older man who seemed to be in his late twenties or early thirties that was wearing the Organization's attire, however, his hood kept them from seeing his face.

"It's time for you two to get going," said Ansem.

"Get going to where, exactly? It's not like we have homes to return to. Two of us don't exist, remember?" Axel pointed out.

"Yes, it's true… we may not have homes… but, there is someplace I want to go… and someone I want to see…" the blonde girl, Naminé, said sadly, never mind the fact that she supposedly didn't have a heart, and therefore no actual feelings of her own.

 _But… if I really don't have a heart and no real emotions, then… why do I love him like I do? Is it because I'm Kairi's Nobody and Roxas is Sora's, meaning that I would feel the same love for Roxas that Kairi does for Sora? But… what I feel for Roxas is far too real to be imitated… and wouldn't I love Sora and not Roxas if my feelings were based on what Kairi remembers each emotion to feel like?_ thought Naminé.

"Same here…" Axel said, sadness evident in his voice, likewise regardless of the fact that he didn't technically have a heart. "Assuming there's any chance of you letting us go. I know you're supposed to get rid of us, but…"

A look of panic and terror crossed Naminé's face at this information. "DiZ… wants to get rid of me?" she said, panic in her voice as she spoke.

Ansem allowed himself a small smile. Sometimes he couldn't tell if these Nobodies actually DID have hearts or not, because these reactions of theirs seemed far too genuine to be mere imitations. Regardless, however, Ansem had already made up his mind in regards to what to do with these two.

"Go," Ansem said.

Ansem's doubt about Nobodies being incapable of feeling emotions quickly increased when he heard both Naminé and Axel make noises of surprise. "Are you sure about that?" the fiery redhead asked the hooded figure.

"I owe you both," said Ansem. "Castle Oblivion. You helped us. Now, go."

Axel tsked before he spoke and opened a Dark Corridor. "You don't have to tell me twice," he said as Naminé picked up her belongings, gave Ansem a quick nod in thanks, and quickly scurried off into the Corridor with Axel following right behind her, leaving Ansem on the alone on the hilltop as the portal closed.

  
_Elsewhere In Twilight Town…_

King Mickey's mind was racing at about a thousand miles an hour as he made his way through the festival. He had gotten word from Riku that Sora, Donald, and Goofy were about to wake up and had made his way to Twilight Town in order to pick them up and get them to Master Yen Sid so he could get them up to speed, but he hadn't expected that that fourth person who was with them… that boy who looked just like a dear friend he had made eleven years ago, and one who was now trapped in an eternal slumber, or so he had thought at the time…

_"The boy's heart is sleeping."_

_"When will he wake?"_

_"I could not say… it is almost as though his heart has left. Should it return, he may very well wake, but should it not, then he may sleep like this for all eternity."_

_"I'll keep him safe until he wakes. Forever if I have to."_

_"I will tell you what your friend needs right now. It is not your protection. He needs you to believe. You see, Ventus' heart hangs in the balance. It sleeps in the place between light and darkness. From all I can perceive, that means he will be looking for a friend…"_

Mickey gasped in shock as something clicked for him. Ventus had never been _looking_ for a friend… he had already found one, and had possibly found that friend much, much earlier than any of them had realized, because now that he thought about it, that Vanitas creature, who, according to Aqua, who had in turn heard it from Ven and Terra, had been created from every last drop of darkness in Ven's heart, and he had sounded quite a bit like an insane, cruel, vicious, and flat-out evil version of the wielder of the Kingdom Key.

As soon as the current situation with Organization XIII was dealt with, they needed to delve into the Dark World once more and bring back that which had been lost there. Because while he now had a pretty solid hunch on where Ven's heart had gone, there was only one person who knew where the rest of Ven was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus concludes the opening chapter! I gotta say, I'm really looking forward to tinkering with this wonderful little experiment and seeing how things play out with it! And yes, I am fully aware that Seifer's last name is not actually Villiers, but you can't tell me that the outfit he's rocking in Kingdom Hearts II isn't the exact same one Snow Villiers is wearing in Final Fantasy XIII-1. And thus, as a result, Seifer's last name shall be Villiers in this AU/series type deal.
> 
> In any case, if you liked what you saw here, then be sure to kudos, bookmark, and comment, and join us next time as Roxas helps provide what few answers he has, or rather, what few answers he has, in regards to the riddle of the Nobodies and Organization XIII!


	2. Secrets At The Mysterious Tower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings, prospective readers, and welcome back to Brothers! Last chapter got us off to a pretty satisfactory start, and that, of course, gives me plenty of drive to continue working on this thing, and perfect my formula for this project.
> 
> Now, I have decided that Roxas will be acquiring Keychains from both his own and Xion's collection from 358/2 Days, save for Rejection of Fate, which will be Xion's true Keyblade in this series/AU. Granted, he'll only be getting one at a time (and Missing Ache will jump ship over to Sora for obvious reasons thanks to Union X) as he travels with the gang, but he'll ultimately get the rest of them back when it comes time to storm the Castle That Never Was, plus I have a fun scene planned with him, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi, and Naminé (who will be using the Keyblade devised for her by the late, great, magnificent creator and deity of the RWBY universe, Monty Oum, known as Lunar Eclipse, in this series/AU) in Where Nothing Gathers. Also, I plan on having all three members of the Destiny Trio, Naminé, and Roxas take part in the final battles against Xemnas… with Roxas delivering the killing blow.
> 
> In terms of skills and abilities, I plan on having Roxas and Sora learn, or rather, re-learn, both the KH1 AND the KHII versions of spells that aren't Cure from both those games, as well as the elements that appeared in one of those games but not the other, like Gravity, Stop, Aero (both in shield and projectile form), plus the Water chain of spell, because as often as Water/Watera/Waterga have shown up the Final Fantasy games, you'd think Water magic would have shown up A LOT sooner than KHIII. 
> 
> As for Limits, Roxas will have his Magic Hour and Event Horizon abilities, as well as Xion's armor ability, this being a result of having been host to Xion's heart after her death. I am also planning on having Sora learn his own versions of these abilities as Limits, this being a by-product of his and Roxas' separation, in addition to both of them learning the abilities that come with the Path of The Warrior, heroes with invincible courage carrying swords of terrible destruction, as well as the other spells and magical abilities Sora learns in KHII, thanks to the fact that because of DiZ screwing with his memories, Roxas doesn't really remember how to use Sora's original powers to begin with, and thus has to learn or re-learn them alongside Sora. After all, while Roxas may be a major badass, a story is no fun if one of the heroes just mows over every single challenge or major threat they come across. Naturally, this means that both Sora and Roxas will be taking part in the adventures of the 100 Acre Woods and thus will both be getting the benefits to be had from there. Heh, just the thought of Pooh saying "Thank you very much, dear nobody!" to Roxas brings a smile to my face. And yes, that is very much going to be a thing in those chapters, which will of course be filler chapters to tide you guys over while I conduct my research into the real meat-and-potatoes of KHII, through videos downloaded from YouTube, reading the manga, and my own playthroughs of the game, same thing with the different Underdrome tournaments.
> 
> Well, apart from that, I don't really have anything else to talk about, so let us start the game!

_Chapter II_

_Secrets At The Mysterious Tower_

After the Ghost Train had departed from the station, carrying the four warriors onboard to parts unknown, most of the train ride was spent in silence as Roxas, Sora, Donald, and Goofy decided to kick back, relax, and finish regaining their bearings. At the same time, however, Roxas couldn't help but be a little nervous. As he and Sora were very much one in the same, plus the memories that he had picked up from Sora while Naminé was putting his memories back together, Roxas knew for a fact that the spiky-haired brunette had a remarkable capacity for forgiveness, as evidenced by his professed desire to continue searching for Riku, never mind the fact that even before the silver-haired teen had been possessed by Ansem, he had been such an asshole to his childhood best friend. Granted, Riku did come to his senses after the birth of both Sora's Heartless and himself, on top of the fact that he was being tricked by the forces of darkness at the time, but would this capacity extend to someone who was a former member of the bad guys' team on their own free will, regardless of the fact that he hardly even remembered his time in the Organization or even that he turned on his benefactors when he found out that he was nothing more than a pawn, or better yet, a puppet in their game?

And what about when Sora and his allies learned the truth about who and what Roxas really was? How would his original self take it when he learned that the blonde was formerly the empty shell that Sora had cast off when he used the _Keyblade of People's Hearts_ on himself to free Kairi's heart from his own, effectively making Roxas his brother, if not his clone?

A thought suddenly occurred to Roxas. If the Nobodies who formed the leadership of Organization XIII and sat in those massive thrones were supposed to look exactly like their original selves prior to becoming Heartless, then why didn't he look or even _sound_ anything like Sora? Granted, he hadn't really put much thought into it, but now that he and his "Somebody," for lack of a better term, were co-existing at the same time, it did strike him as rather peculiar.

Roxas was quickly pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of the Ghost Train's brakes squealing as the train quickly came to a stop and the door slid open. 

As Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy piled out of the train, they quickly realized that the train had taken them to what seemed to be a small island that floated in a sea of what seemed to be a sea of colorful mists while a borealis of some kind danced in the dark skies above, and was populated by a lone, massive tower that stretched and twisted towards the dark sky.

"Hmm… you know, Donald, this place seems kinda familiar…" Goofy said, looking at his surroundings with interest.

Donald hummed thoughtfully to himself. "You know, Goofy, I think you might be right… I feel like we were here a long time ago with the King… or maybe it was to try to find the King for some reason..." he said, his expression indicating that he was trying to remember the exact details of their visit to this place with the King, or what their visit to this place had to do with him.

But, before any further discussion on the topic could be had, the four warriors' attention was quickly diverted by a loud shimmering sound from directly behind them, prompting the group to turn around just in time to see the Ghost Train vanish into thin air like its namesake in a bright flash of light, effectively marooning them on the island, as Sora was quick to point out.

"Eh heh heh heh… there goes our ride," the spiky haired brunette said with a sheepish chuckle.

"Yeah, that's not really helping much, Sora. More importantly, we need to meet up with whoever wanted to meet with us here, who I'm guessing is waiting for us at the very tippy-top of that tower," said Roxas before he and the others began to make their way towards the tower in question, only to find that there was someone standing in front of the door, effectively blocking the entrance. 

Naturally, it didn't take a genius to figure out that this rather large person, who was clad in a red shirt with navy blue and purple armor with matching pauldrons, fingerless gauntlets, and navy blue pants with large pouches on both sides, wasn't supposed to be there, be it right now or just in general. Regardless, there was something about this person that seemed to strike Donald and Goofy as familiar, although not in a pleasant way if the way they were glaring at the man was any indication.

As they finally reached the person who was currently blocking the entrance into the tower as they peaked inside the entrance, Roxas called out to them. "Excuse me… what are you doing? You're kinda blocking the entrance to the tower."

The large person gave a deep sinister chuckle in response, causing Donald and Goofy's glares to become a bit more intense, as that devious laugh and the voice that followed rang several bells, many of which were unpleasant.

"I sent some of my lackeys inside to see if the master of this here tower's as big and tough as they say. Word is, he's a real powerful sorcerer, which would make him the perfect bodyguard for me. See, it don't matter how tough he is, once he's a Heartless, he'll do as I say!" the big brute proudly declared.

"A HEARTLESS?!" squaked Donald in alarm as he, Goofy, Sora, and Roxas each took a combat stance, the latter two's hands getting ready to summon forth their Keyblades.

"That's right!" the big guy said with a nod, still turned away from the quartet. "There're those things that come outta the darkness in folks hearts. Why, with all those Heartless at her side, my dear friend Maleficent is gonna conquer everything! And since I got me a debt to pay, I'm goin' 'round to a bunch of different worlds and building an army of Heartless, special for her!"

This little declaration threw Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy for a complete loop. Evidently, this guy had been too busy running around building an army of Heartless to have caught wind of the news that Maleficent had been destroyed and Hollow Bastion reclaimed from the grasp of darkness. The man himself, meanwhile, seemed to have realized that he was currently divulging information that he really shouldn't have been.

"Why am I talkin' to you pip-squeaks anyway? Go on, scram! I'm behind schedule as it is!" the man barked at the quartet standing behind him as he shooed them away.

"You know, you really should find something nicer to do," said Sora as he approached the man. "Teaming up with the Heartless never ends well for anyone involved, no matter what side they're on."

"Says who?" scoffed the large man as he finally turned around to face the quartet, revealing that he was in fact a resident from the same world that Donald and Goofy hailed from and seemed to be a cat by the look of it. This suspicion was quickly proven to be correct when the large anthropomorphic cat exclaimed "Wha-?! AHHH IT'S YOU!" in a mixture of surprise, panic, and alarm.

"PETE?!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed in just as much surprise and alarm.

"What are you two nimrods doin' here?!" demanded Pete.

"What are _you_ doing here?!" squawked Donald, giving Pete a rage filled glare.

"I'm pretty sure he just told us that, but more importantly, you two know this guy?" Roxas asked Donald and Goofy.

"We sure do! Pete's been causin' trouble for ages!" Goofy explained before he turned to the troublemaker in question. "His Majesty and Queen Minnie banished him to another dimension a long time ago after they got sick of all the trouble he caused. I wonder how he escaped."

Pete gave a loud boisterous laugh at Goofy's indirect question. "You wanna know how, eh? Well, Maleficent busted me out, that's how! And now your world- no, no, no, ALL the worlds are gonna belong to yours truly! 'Cause, uh, Maleficent is gonna help me conquer 'em!"

"Maleficent… huh," said Sora, amusement evident in his voice before he, Goofy, Donald, and Roxas started snickering, although the latter only did so because he knew what was so funny, although Pete didn't really seem to.

"What're you laughing at? Why, Maleficent's power is so great that-" Pete started to say before Sora finally spilled the beans.

"She's toast," Sora said, a big grin still evident on his face.

"HUH?!" Pete exclaimed in surprise. Sure, he had heard rumors while he was out building their army that Maleficent had finally been destroyed once and for all at the hands of a knight, a magician, and some runt with a giant key, but he'd also heard about all the times Maleficent had been "destroyed" and yet still returned, her powers greater and more terrible than ever before.

"Sorry, but Maleficent can't help ya now!" Goofy said with a smile and shrug that further supported his statement.

"Whaddya mean?!" demanded Pete before the rumors he had heard suddenly seemed to click. "You! So you're the ones that did it!"

"Well… we _mighta_ had something to do with it," said Sora as he placed his hands behind his head, clearly relaxed about this whole situation.

"Or they might've had everything to do with it, but who needs details anyways? I wasn't around at the time, so my hands are clean in this," Roxas said with a smirk.

This prompted Pete to turn his attention to Roxas before he let out a gasp of recognition. "You again?!" he snarled.

Roxas looked around, seeing if by chance Pete was talking to someone else, because this was honestly the first time he had ever met Pete… at least, as far as he could remember. "Me? You mean me, right?" Roxas finally asked.

"Yes, you! Don't think I haven't forgotten what you and that matchstick did!" spat Pete.

"Right, of course you wouldn't forget about… that… which is good, because I sure as hell did. Care to fill in the blanks?" Roxas asked confusion evident on his face and in his voice.

"Don't play dumb with me, blondie! You might not be wearing that snazzy little black coat, but don't think for a minute that I haven't forgotten about how you mucked my plans in Agrabah and Neverland! Well, I ain't gonna let you muck up my plans this time! Heartless Squad! Round up!" bellowed Pete before he moved aside to avoid any potential crossfire.

At Pete's command, a small squad of Shadow Heartless roze up from the ground nearby. As one, Sora and Roxas summoned their Keyblades, the latter cracking his neck as he did so, while Donald and Goofy summoned their regular stave and shield respectively.

"Thunder!" bellowed Sora, clearly hoping to open with a magic attack as he held his Keyblade to the heavens… only for absolutely nothing to happen. "What the-?" Sora stammered in confusion before swinging _Kingdom Key_ to swat a Shadow away as it tried to pounce on him. "Deep freeze!" Sora shouted as he aimed his weapon at another Heartless, hoping to ice it with a blast of Blizzaga, only for the spell to once again be a dud. "Come on! Force! Stop! Fire! Wind! Heal!" the spiky brunette shouted, only to be met with the same results time and time again. "What's wrong with my magic?! You steal it or something, Roxas?!" Sora called out to the blonde who had somehow spawned from his body as he shook the _Kingdom Key_ in an attempt to get his magic to cooperate.

"Nope! I can't use it either! Sounds to me like we've hit a reset somehow!" replied Roxas as he struck a couple of Heartless down with _Oblivion_ and _Oathkeeper_.

Despite Sora and Roxas' apparent technical difficulties with their magical combat abilities, the quartet of warriors managed to reign triumphant over the Heartless, surprising no one given the fact that they were mere Shadows, although Pete was less than pleased over the heroes victory.

"You just wait!" snarled Pete through clenched teeth. "Nobody, and I do mean _nobody_ messes with the mighty Pete!"

 _Clearly, as from the sounds of it, Axel and I have messed with you several times before now… although… why does it feel like Axel and I weren't alone when we did…?_ thought Roxas as that same feeling of guilt, anger, and sadness that he had felt when he'd had that sudden thought of there having been a "Number XIV" among the ranks of the Organization, one that, despite the fact that he literally shouldn't have been able to feel anything at the time, he had somehow managed to come to love like a sibling?

Roxas was sent crashing back down to Earth when Sora spoke up, addressing the angry cat before them.

"So, 'mighty' Pete… who lives in this tower anyway?" Sora asked.

"Oh, ya don't know, eh?" Pete said with a grin. "Well, it's old Yen Sid. 'Course, he's probably a Heartless by now."

"WHAT?! MASTER YEN SID?!" squawked Donald before he made a beeline for the tower entrance and hurried through the door.

"Who's Yen Sid?" Sora asked Goofy.

"Yen Sid is the King's teacher," explained Goofy.

"Wow! Sounds powerful," Sora gasped in awe.

"And it also sounds like someone we don't want turning into a Heartless," said Roxas. _And it sounds even less like someone we want turning into a Nobody, especially if he were to retain a human form… God forbid the Organization gets someone like that among their ranks… then again, could you even MAKE a Nobody name out of something like 'Yen Sid?'_ he added in his head before taking off after Sora and Goofy up the stairs and into the tower.

_A Short While Later…_

"Heartless, Heartless, Heartless!" warbled Donald after he, Sora, Roxas, and Goofy had cleared a second antechamber of the creatures of darkness. "Things haven't changed one bit!"

"Well, it's a good thing we're on the job then," said Goofy.

"So, the worlds aren't at peace after all?" Sora asked, confused.

"Well, not everything lasts forever, Sora. Peace just happens to be one of those things. Like the song goes, 'ain't no rest for the wicked.' But, like Goofy said, it's a good thing we're on the job," Roxas said.

After exiting the antechamber that they were currently in, the quartet of heroes quickly found that the staircase was a straight shot onwards and upwards, indicating that they were coming up on their goal fairly quickly. Naturally, a couple of Heartless got in their way, but were quickly dispatched with little issue.

Upon opening the door at the top of the stairs, the quartet found themselves in what could only be Yen Sid's study, considering the star-and-moon motif of the place. And sitting at the table in the very center of the room was undoubtedly Yen Sid himself, who looked as though he had been reading a letter that had been sent to him via balloon, if the remains of said balloon were anything to go by, prior to the quartet's entry.

Yen Sid, from what Sora and Roxas could tell, looked every bit the wise and powerful sorcerer Pete had said he was. Even without the long gray beard, he showed many signs of being many years old, and was clad in the stereotypical sorcerer's attire, consisting of a pointed cap with a star and moon motif, and long blue robes. However, what really caught Sora and Roxas' attention was the fact that burning within his eyes was a vast wealth of raw, unimaginable power and wisdom, one born from decades, maybe even centuries of experience and discipline. Yet, at the same time there was a sense of deep kindness and caring within them, as though he knew just how valuable and precious every single living thing in existence was. To say that both Sora and Roxas were rattled was an understatement.

However, it wasn't long before those concerns were laid to rest when both Donald and Goofy gave the sorcerer a bow of respect.

"Master Yen Sid… it's an honor," Donald said with a certain reverence and respect in his voice.

Roxas, taking his cue from Donald and Goofy, made a bow of respect of his own. Sora, meanwhile, seemed to decide instead to take the approach of being as friendly as possible to the intimidating man, but the approach he took to doing so left a great deal to be desired.

"Hey there!" Sora said cheerfully with a wave at Yen Sid, causing Roxas and Goofy to cringe a little bit while Donald shot the spiky brunette a glare.

"Sora! Show some respect!" the Court Magician of Disney Castle snapped at Sora, causing him to instantly become extremely uncomfortable.

Yen Sid moved his hands in the universal gesture of indicating that all was well before he spoke up. "So… you are Sora… and who might you be young man?" the wizard asked Roxas in a deep and gravelly voice.

"I'm Roxas, sir. Roxas Seiiki. It's an honor to meet you, Master Yen Sid, sir," Roxas said with another bow of respect.

"Ah, so you are Roxas… the King spoke of you in a missive he sent me just before your arrival. It seems as though you have a natural gift for the Synch Blade ability, something even I myself was never able to truly master in my days as a Keyblade Master…" Yen Sid said, gazing at Roxas intently as he spoke.

"Wait, so you've spoken with the King?" asked Sora.

"Yes, he and I have kept in contact quite frequently over this past year, ever since the Heartless first appeared and the worlds became connected, and ever since his return from the Realm of Darkness, he has been quite busy of late. Therefore, it would seem the task of instructing the four of you falls upon my shoulders," Yen Sid explained.

"You see, Sora, after you thwarted Ansem, Seeker of Darkness' plot to unlock the Door to Darkness, you, Donald, and Goofy were lured into a trap set by traitors from a nefarious group of beings from neither light nor darkness. If what I understand is correct, they sought to alter your memories so that you might become their puppet and further their own ambitions. Thankfully, those efforts were thwarted. However, in order for you and your memories to become what they once were, you, Donald and Goofy needed to be kept asleep in stasis. The entire process has taken a year by my understanding," the old sorcerer explained.

"WHAT?!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy exclaimed.

"We were asleep for a whole year?!" Sora said, his eyes wide with shock and confusion.

"Say, maybe that's what the message in the journal was about!" Jiminy exclaimed as he poked out of Sora's hood. "Remember what it said? 'Thank Naminé.' Maybe this Naminé was one of the folks helpin' to restore our memories!"

"That is correct," Yen Sid confirmed with a slow nod. "And now that you have awakened at last, the worlds need your aid once more, Sora. You, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy have a perilous journey ahead of you… you must be well prepared."

"You mean… we have to go on another quest?" asked Sora. "I was looking forward to finding my friend Riku, so we could go back to the islands."

"Yes, I know," replied Yen Sid. "However, everything in your journey, Sora, is connected. Whether you will find your way home to the islands, whether you will return alone, or with your friend. And… whether or not the islands will still be there. And the key that connects them all… is you, Sora," explained Yen Sid.

"I'm… the key?" asked Sora before he held out his hand, prompting Roxas to do the same. Together, the brunette summoned the _Kingdom Key_ while his blonde counterpart summoned _Oathkeeper_ into his.

"Chosen wielders of the Keyblade! You are each pieces of the key that will open the door to light," said Yen Sid.

Sora and Roxas nodded before they dismissed their Keyblades. Yen Sid took a look at the four warriors before him, prompting Donald and Goofy to snap to attention.

"Now then… I believe if you do not have any questions-" Yen Sid said before Sora raised his hand as though he were a student in class. "Yes, what is it?"

"Actually… I was wondering why the Heartless are still running around if we closed the Door to Darkness," Sora asked the old man before him.

"Your past endeavors did prevent an immense effusion of Heartless from the great darkness, make no mistake about that," Yen Sid reassured Sora. "However, the Heartless are darkness made real, and darkness yet lingers in every heart. The Heartless are fewer, but while darkness exists in a single heart, it will be difficult to eliminate them."

"Gwarsh, that must mean that if everybody's heart was full of light, them Heartless'd go away!" said Goofy.

Yen Sid gave Goofy a brief nod. "Now… it is time to speak of the enemies that you will encounter," he said before conjuring up a magical hologram of Donald, causing the real Donald to squawk in surprise before the illusion transformed into that of a Shadow Heartless.

"If one such as you, Donald, yields to the darkness in their heart, then they too will become a Heartless. But, you know this," Yen Sid explained. "The Heartless are always lurking and ever seeking to capture new hearts. Never let your guard down!" the old sorcerer warned the quartet.

"Now, then…" Yen Sid said before conjuring a second image, this time of one of the strange white creatures the four warriors had fought in Twilight Town before being rescued by the King. "At times, if someone with a strong heart and will, be they evil or good, becomes a Heartless, the empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will of its own," the old sorcerer explained as the image of the Shadow Heartless disappeared. "An empty vessel whose heart has been stolen away, a spirit that goes on, even as its body fades from existence, for you see, Nobodies do not truly exist at all," Yen Sid explained. "They may seem to have feelings, but this is a ruse. They only pretend to have hearts. You must not be deceived!" warned Yen Sid.

"Nobodies… they don't exist," said Sora slowly, while Roxas looked on with a somber look, until three images of the Nobodies sprang into existence directly behind them, catching all four warriors by surprise.

"Now then… the being you see before you is known as a Dusk. They are the most common form of Nobody. But, there are others, some larger, some with frightening and unique powers. Be vigilant!" cautioned Yen Sid as Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy looked back to him and nodded in understanding.

"On your journey, you will meet an alarming number of Dusks. They will all attempt to do you harm," said Yen Sid.

 _Some of us more than others,_ thought Roxas as the images of the Dusks vanished and the old sorcerer continued his explanation.

"Still, they are nothing but empty shells, destined to return to darkness. But…" Yen Sid said as he summoned forth three more images, these ones depicting three humanoid figures in black leather longcoats with hoods that concealed their faces, black leather gloves, and black leather boots. There was something about these figures that caused Sora, Donald, and Goofy to take a few steps away from the figures out of caution, while Roxas merely scowled at them in contempt.

"The beings you see before you are different. These powerful Nobodies have formed a group called Organization XIII. It commands the lesser Nobodies," explained Yen Sid.

Sora didn't really seem to know why exactly, but that name seemed to ring a few bells for him, if his expression was anything to go by. "Organization XIII…" muttered Sora as he looked between Goofy, Donald, Goofy, and Roxas, hoping that one of them might recognize the name themselves. While Donald and Goofy didn't seem to recognize it, Sora noted that Roxas did, judging from how he looked like he wanted to throttle the images, despite them being magical holograms.

"While Heartless act on instinct, Nobodies function in a higher manner," explained Yen Sid, causing the four warriors to turn back towards him. "They can think and plan. And it seems they are all working towards a goal. What that goal is… we do not know."

"Actually, Master… I think I might be able to help with that," Roxas said, causing everyone to turn towards him.

"And how, praytell, might you be able to help us deduce what Organization XIII's intentions are?" asked Yen Sid, his curiosity piqued.

Roxas heaved a sigh as he turned to face one of the shimmering projections of the hooded forms of the Organization XIII members. If he was going to bite the bullet, then now was the time to do it, especially considering that even Yen Sid, former teacher to the great King Mickey Mouse himself, wasn't aware of what the Organization's master plan was, not that he himself was much better off, truth be told. But, if he was going to keep Sora, Donald, and Goofy's trust, let alone persuade them to keep him around, then he would need to come clean.

"Well… as a former member of Organization XIII myself, you would think I'd have some insight on their plans…" Roxas revealed.

"WHAT?! YOU'RE A NOBODY?!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy exclaimed in shock while Yen Sid suddenly turned far more serious, listening to Roxas' information intently.

In truth, the old sorcerer was already well aware of Roxas' true nature, having been informed as much by King Mickey over the course of the last year, who in turn had learned of Roxas' existence through the very same person that the blonde's original self was currently looking for. After seeing the young Nobody in action alongside Sora just before their departure from Twilight Town, the mouse king immediately sent his old master the Balloon Letter he had just been reading prior to their entry, having realized that Sora's Nobody just so happened to bear an uncanny resemblance to a certain other Keybearer who had met with a terrible fate over eleven years ago.

"You see… my name is Roxas. The Key of Destiny and former Number XIII of Organization XIII… the Nobody of the Keyblade's Chosen One, created a year and some change ago when my original self turned into a Heartless so that he might restore the heart of one he loved the most, the heart of the girl to whom his own heart had always belonged to from the moment he'd met her, to her body," Roxas revealed giving a very meaningful look towards Sora, prompting Goofy, Donald, and Yen Sid to do the same, much to the brunette's confusion.

"Um… why is everyone staring at me?" Sora asked.

"Oh, come on, it's not that difficult," Roxas said, amusement in his voice. "A Nobody is created when someone with a strong will, good, bad, or otherwise becomes a Heartless, and I think we can all agree you fit the bill. Plus… if one were to remove the 'x' from my name, they would be left with an anagram of yours."

Upon seeing that Sora was still confused, Roxas sighed. "All right, the blunt approach. Sora, I'm _your_ Nobody. When you turned yourself into a Heartless to restore Kairi's heart to her body at Hollow Bastion, I was created too. I woke up right outside the front gate of that mansion in Twilight Town, actually," explained Roxas.

That got Sora's attention. "What?! You're my… he's my…" Sora said, looking between Yen Sid, Roxas, Goofy, and Donald in wild confusion. "B-but that's crazy! I never turned into a Heart-"

"Dude. What did I _literally_ just say about when and how I was created, and the circumstances that led up to it?" Roxas interrupted, giving Sora a deadpan expression, causing the brunette to stop stammering.

"Oh, right," Sora said, a sheepish smile on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Anyway… moments after I was born, I was approached by the leader of Organization XIII. He promised me that he could give me answers about why I felt so weird about my existence, why I literally felt nothing at all, why nothing seemed real to me somehow, and above all… a purpose. Naturally, as I was barely capable of intelligent thought, let alone how to function as a human being, heart notwithstanding, I agreed," explained Roxas.

"And what was this 'purpose' Organization XIII gave you?" inquired Yen Sid.

"They needed the help of someone with the Keyblade in order to get their hands on Kingdom Hearts. Don't get me wrong, Sora, this isn't the same one you, Riku, and the King sealed, it's something else entirely… although, I think Kingdom Hearts might be one of those legends that have multiple interpretations," said Roxas before continuing his explanation. "Either way, the Organization believes that by getting their hands on Kingdom Hearts, they can get hearts of their own and truly exist as real people, rather than empty shells," revealed Roxas.

"Well… from the sound of it, they don't seem all that bad…" Goofy said with uncertainty

"Indeed… however, ends do not necessarily justify the means… what else can you tell us about the Organization's goals?" asked Yen Sid.

Roxas gaved a defeated sigh. "I wish I could tell you more but… I don't remember much of what happened during my tenure in the Organization… my memories were altered by the people who had been helping Sora recover his own memories in Twilight Town this past year, so that they could keep me safe inside a digital version of that particular world until it was time for me to rejoin with him," the blonde explained.

"That said, while I might not remember much of my time working for them, I do know that I left Organization XIII for a very good reason, even if I can't remember what exactly that reason was… part of me feels like it was to try to find and meet Sora for some reason. But… another, stronger part of me thinks that it might have something to do with a promise I made to someone very, very dear to me and my heart. Whatever the true reason was behind my desertion, I can assure you all that there's only one way a member of Organization XIII would ever be allowed to leave their ranks. Whether it was to stop me from leaving or from carrying out whatever it was I promised, it wasn't long before the Organization's forces closed in on me… if Riku hadn't shown up when he did, I'd be destroyed… or worse."

"RIKU?! YOU SAW RIKU?!" Sora shouted, clearly hoping that his Nobody might be able to provide him with a lead on his best friend's whereabouts.

Roxas sighed and gave a solemn nod. "Yes, I had a run-in with Riku… but… I can't really help point you in the direction of his current whereabouts. After Riku and I got rid of the enemies that were after me, the two of us fought… and I defeated him. Make no mistake, I didn't strike him down, but… honestly I don't remember how that fight ended, but I can guarantee you that Riku is alive. Whether he's completely fine or not, though, I'm not sure…"

Sora gave a small sigh of disappointment at this information before something else came to mind. "You said that this Organization XIII wanted Kingdom Hearts to gain hearts of their own… wouldn't that be something you'd want too?" Sora asked.

"Why would I want something that I already have?" asked Roxas, surprising Sora, Donald, and Goofy as he placed a hand on his chest, finding comfort once more in the proof of existence fueling him from within as evidenced by his smile. "I don't know if I got it before I rejoined with you, if it was _because_ I rejoined with you, or if there's another reason for it, but somehow, I was able to cultivate a heart of my own, meaning that I am a Nobody no longer. I'm a real, living, thinking, feeling, human being now, as real as you, Donald, or Goofy are… and I know for a fact that I am never, ever going back to the Organization. I refuse to be a puppet in their game any longer. There are no strings on me," Roxas concluded, conviction in his voice.

Sora adopted a thoughtful expression. "I see… but, why do I get the feeling you were worrying that telling us about this was going to make us kick you off the team? Because, as far as I'm concerned, as my Nobody, you were a part of the team from day one. You're just not a part of _me_ anymore is all," Sora said with a smile.

Roxas let out a grateful sigh of relief. "Thank you, Sora," he said before he and his original self returned their attention to Yen Sid.

"Thank you for sharing what you know, Roxas. I will be sure to pass this information on to my old apprentice, and I've no doubt that Sora, Donald, and Goofy will benefit from what you know about the Nobodies on your journey," Yen Sid said with a grateful nod. "It seems as though he was right about the danger he'd sensed before having journeyed forth to fight it. I'm sure he will appreciate having some answers to the riddle of the Nobodies and Organization XIII after having been travelling from world to world while fighting the Heartless for the past year."

"Sounds to me like we'd better go find the King first," said Sora.

"Well, I think it'd be a safe bet to assume that he's not in Twilight Town anymore, considering how big of a hurry he was in," said Roxas.

"So, then where could he be?" pondered Donald.

"Well, we won't know until we look!" said Goofy.

"Yeah. And the King must know where Riku is, 'cause the two of them were together in the Realm of Darkness when we closed the door. You know, after defeating Ansem," reasoned Sora.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Roxas said with a nod and a small smile.

"So, before you go, you will need more suitable travelling clothes. Those look a bit too small for you," Yen Sid noted with a hint of amusement in his voice as Sora took a look at his outfit. "Through there, you will find three good fairies. If you ask, they will create for you, appropriate garments."

"Gwarsh, Sora, you sure are growin' fast!" said Goofy.

"Doesn't seem like a year in stasis did much to stunt your growth, if anything," Roxas said with a smirk.

"I guess…" Sora said with a small chuckle as he tugged on his jacket, silently grateful for the old sorcerer's offer, as the outfit from his first, and evidently second, adventures, was really starting to get uncomfortable, not to mention that the jumpsuit was REALLY starting to chafe and ride up on his crotch.

And on that note, Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy left the sorcerer's study and made their way through the door where the three Good Fairies, one dressed in red, the second dressed in blue, while the third was dressed in green were waiting for them in a room with what looked like seven paintings covered by pieces of cloth, apparently discussing something.

"Umm… excuse me!" Sora called to the three fairies. "I was told you could make me some clothes that were of more… appropriate size."

Turning around to face the four warriors the fairy in red, Flora, spoke. "Well, look who's here, dears! Sora, Donald, Goofy, and…" Flora said before she gasped in recognition at the sight of Roxas. "Oh, my stars! Little Ven, is that you?! You look as though you haven't aged a day after all this time!"

Roxas looked around in confusion, as though he were expecting someone else to be with them. "Umm… I think you have me confused with someone else, ma'am. My name is Roxas. Roxas Seiiki," he said, confusion evident in his voice.

"Oh! My apologies, Roxas… you look almost exactly like someone we met a little over eleven years ago… he was such a nice young man who had met with a truly terrible fate… just like the one he had helped save our dearest Aurora from…" Flora said sadly.

While this exchange was taking place, Sora was staring off into space… or so it seemed anyway. Upon hearing the name "Ven," his mind had somehow jumped to the name "Ventus." Sora couldn't understand why, but… he knew that name. It felt as though this "Ventus" person had been someone he had met a very, very long time ago. Someone he had helped when he was hurt in such a bad way… he recalled his parents once telling him that they had been afraid he was stillborn on the night he was born, as he wasn't awake, nor did he have a heartbeat…

A soft sniffling sound came from nearby, prompting Sora to look in the direction the sniffling was coming from.

Sora's eyes widened in shock as he saw a boy around his age who looked identical to Roxas standing next to him, apparently invisible to everyone but himself, just as the illusions of Kairi had been while her heart had dwelt within him. However, unlike Roxas, this person had a lot more black in his outfit, and had a pauldron of steel blue and dull green on his shoulder.

 _"They remember me… even after all these years… they remember me… I wonder… do you think anyone else will remember me, Sora? Do you think Terra and Aqua still remember me, after I've been hidden away and asleep all this time? Do you think… you'll remember me one day?"_ the boy asked Sora, a hopeful look on his face.

"Sora, you okay there?" Roxas asked his original self, snapping Sora out of his trance and causing the Nobody's look-a-like to disappear.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine… just… thinking is all," Sora said as he finished coming back down to Earth.

"Well, if you're looking for clothes, you've come to the right place!" the fairy in blue, Merryweather, as she and Flora grabbed ahold of Sora's hands and brought him to the center of the room.

"I'll do the designing!" the fairy in green, Fauna, said. With a flick of her wand, a glob of green magic flew from it and struck Sora's clothes, doing absolutely nothing to them but changing all the colors on them to green.

"Oh, that will never do!" snapped Merryweather before flicking her own wand, and changing Sora's clothes from green to blue.

"Now, now, dears!" scolded Flora before flicking her own wand and changing Sora's clothes from blue to red.

"But, don't you like this better?" asked Fauna before changing Sora's clothes back to green.

And on it went for the better part of ten minutes, as the three squabbling fairies kept changing the colors of Sora's clothes between red, green, blue, and back again. However, it wasn't long before Sora's patience finally began to run thin.

"Aww, would you just decide?" Sora groaned, irritation and annoyance in his voice.

That got the three fairies to put an end to their little fashion design disagreement as they quickly began chuckling in embarrassment. "All right then. Together now, dears. And no more squabbling!" said Flora before, as one, the three Good Fairies flicked their wands, the magical energies merging together as they struck Sora in a blinding flash of light.

Once the light cleared, Sora stood sparkling, clad in a _far_ more comfortable outfit consisting of a navy blue v-neck t-shirt with white hemming and a red pocket underneath a black hooded jacket with white hemming, designs resembling gray pauldrons on each shoulder, and yellow belts hanging off the front, black fingerless gloves with white hemming, yellow wrist straps, and two white straps forming an 'x' across the back, black chap-style shorts with yellow belts holding on two red pockets on either leg, and black and yellow shoes with a zipper running across. The only thing about him that didn't seem to have changed was his silver crown necklace.

"Ooh, it's lovely!" appraised Fauna.

"Ooh, yes! He does look very dashing!" appraised Merryweather.

As Sora checked out his new look, he summoned _Kingdom Key_ into his hand and turned to his new companions for their opinions.

"Lookin' good!" said Roxas, giving his original self two thumbs up while Donald and Goofy gave similar responses.

"Now, those aren't just ordinary garments," Flora said.

"They have very special powers," added Fauna as Flora flicked her wand again, this time causing a red orb with an unusual emblem within it to appear. "Take orb, dear."

Sora did as he was instructed and allowed the red orb to be absorbed, immediately feeling a rush of power that he associated with the power of light surging through him.

"And watch what happens," finished Merryweather just as the rush of light surging through Sora faded away.

Looking down at himself, Sora saw that while his clothes still had the same design, they had taken on a red and white color scheme with a _fleur-de-lis_ insignia on his sleeves and pant legs. But, the color change wasn't the biggest surprise that his outfit's new powers had given him. In the hand not holding the _Kingdom Key_ was a second Keyblade with a star-and-moon motif known as _Star Seeker._

"Wow!" Donald gasped.

"Two Keyblades, just like Roxas!" exclaimed Goofy.

"Is it weird that I'm feeling a bit less special now?" joked Roxas.

"This journey's gonna be twice as difficult as you last," Merryweather cautioned.

Sora seemed to droop down in exhaustion somehow at this information before perking back up again. "Well then, in that case, I'd say it's a good thing we have two people on the team who can use a Keyblade, so let the Organization hit us with their best shot!" Sora proudly declared.

"Your garments also have other powers, but you will have to discover what they are as you continue on your journey," said Flora as Sora's transformation dispersed and his appearance returned to normal.

"Okay, I'll do my best. And thanks a lot!" Sora said with an appreciative nod.

"Oh, and there's something else for you, from Master Yen Sid," said Fauna.

"Oh, boy!" cheered Donald.

And with one last thank you, Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy returned to Yen Sid's study, where the old sorcerer was waiting for them.

As the four warriors rounded the table to stand before the former Keyblade Master, they heard the sound of a familiar engine powering up from outside. Following Yen Sid's gaze out the window, Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy were greeted by the sight of what was unmistakably the _D.C.G.S. Highwind_.

"Hey! It's the Gummi Ship!" Donald exclaimed excitedly as he, Sora, Roxas, and Goofy ran over to the window where Yen Sid was standing.

After a moment, Sora spoke up. "So, you guys ready to go?" he asked his three companions, all of whom nodded, looks of excitement on their faces.

"Now, now, just a minute," said Yen Sid, prompting Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy to snap to attention like they were soldiers before their general, almost comically so. "Because of your previous endeavors, the worlds have returned to their original states. That means the pathways between them have disappeared."

This caused looks of confusion and disappointment to spread throughout the group. "How do we get around?" asked Donald.

"Do not fear. If what the King suspected proves true, then the worlds will have prepared new pathways along which you may travel. These pathways may be utilized by unlocking special gates. How these gates are opened, I'm afraid I do not know," Yen Sid said with a shake of his head. "However, the Keyblade will serve as your guide. When a beam of light radiates from the Keyblade, return to the Gummi Ship. Though the worlds may seem far apart and out of reach, they nonetheless remain connected by invisible ties, as do our hearts."

"Our hearts are connected…" murmured Sora. He may have forgotten what had happened on the apparent second adventure he had had, he wasn't likely to forget the most important lesson he had learned on his very first journey… much like how he would never forget the feeling on Kairi's lips on his own after she had brought him back from being a Heartless. Those two things had been the most important parts of his adventure, apart from saving the worlds from destruction.

"That is correct," Yen Sid confirmed with a nod.

"Got it!" Sora said with a nod.

"But, be warned. As you proceed, the Heartless and the Nobodies will be using their own paths, Corridors of Darkness, to travel from world to world. They may be attempting to link these dark pathways to the gates between the worlds," cautioned Yen Sid.

"Hey, that's not fair!" snapped Donald.

"That's Organization XIII for you. From what I remember, there was literally only one guy who did anything remotely close to 'fair,' and even then, the guy was a gambler, so… yeah," said Roxas.

Yen Sid gave a solemn nod. "Now then, that is all the information I can give to you. Go forth, Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy. Everyone is waiting," he said.

Sora nodded. "Okay, let's get going!" he declared.

As one, Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy snapped to attention and saluted Yen Sid.

"Master Yen Sid…" said Donald.

"We sure do appreciate the help!" said Goofy.

And with that, the quartet took off from the study, but not before Roxas and Goofy caught one last sentence from the old sorcerer before they departed.

"May your heart be your guiding key…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus concludes chapter two! Took me awhile, but I think I did a pretty decent job with it, plus we got a little cameo from Ven in the mix too! In any case, if you liked what you saw here, then be sure to bookmark, kudos, and comment, and make sure to join us next time as Sora, Roxas, and company arrive at the world of Roxas' (technical) birth: Hollow Bastion, and crosses paths and blades with the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee and Organization XIII! See you then!


	3. A Bastion Half-Full

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings, prospective readers, and welcome back to Brothers! Last chapter worked out pretty well, and that's all the drive I need to help keep this gravy train a-rolling!
> 
> Now then, I'd like to take this opportunity to go over a couple of things that were brought up over on fanfiction, namely in regards to Axel kidnapping Kairi. Yes, that will still be happening as part of Axel's misguided attempt to resurrect Roxas. After all, he's pretty much locked out of the loop due to the fact that he's effectively handed in his proverbial resignation with Organization XIII, so he's not gonna find out about Roxas' survival from them, plus Riku-Ansem didn't tell him about it after the fact. Therefore, Axel has no real way of knowing that Roxas and Sora have separated once and for all prior to doing the deed, so thus, he will still kidnap Kairi in order to try to turn Sora into a Heartless and bring Roxas back, only for her to get kidnapped by Saïx on the Organization's orders, not that Kairi will take either hostage/bargaining chip situation lying down, as I'm trying to splice the storyline and characterizations, especially in Kairi's case, from the games with the one with the manga, while throwing my own unique spin into the concoction, including investigating the possibility of having Naminé join the party at some point prior to storming The World That Never Was/The Castle That Never Was, with Lunar Eclipse at her side. Also, I plan on giving Naminé a costume change once she joins up with everyone, as while she certainly gives off an otherworldly beauty in her lacy white dress and flip flops, something tells me that it's not exactly designed for combat purposes. Thankfully, I came across something suitable for her and works for my purposes, one that seems to be very much inspired by Kairi's KHIII design. Also, before I forget, Naminé will not be merging with Kairi this time around, as thanks to the nature of her birth, she doesn't need to merge with Kairi, as both Naminé and the Princess of Heart are already whole to begin with, thanks to Naminé having cultivated a heart of her own, just like Roxas.
> 
> Also, I plan on having Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy actually fight the Organization members who survived Chain of Memories multiple times throughout their adventures, save for Xemnas. In all honesty, I just want an excuse for the other Organization members to show their stuff a bit more. These first battles will feature them with their hoods up, while their actual boss fights from the game will feature them with their hoods down, and their faces revealed. Think of it as the kid gloves coming off, in a manner of speaking.
> 
> Furthermore, after noticing a lack of a manga adaptation for Port Royal/The Caribbean, I have decided, in regards to putting my own spin on things, to try to incorporate more of the movie into the first visit to that particular world, namely adding in Gibbs, Pintel, Ragetti, the trip to Tortuga to pick up the rest of the crew, as well as working in the part where Captain Jack Sparrow gets sprung from jail, this time with help from the Keyblade… something that may or may not be a set up to provide Jack with a reason to want a Keyblade for himself and may play out in a unique, complete original story for this series/AU. Hint: I GOT A JAR OF DIRT, I GOT A JAR OF DIRT, I GOT A JAR OF DIRT, AND GUESS WHAT'S INSIDE IT? Right now, however, the scene that included the legendary question that has been plaguing the world's most elite scientists to this day is up in the air, but upon my honor, I will do everything I can to try to work it in somehow, but we will simply have to wait and see where the dice fall. Also, in case anyone is wondering, the question I speak of is…
> 
> "WHY IS THE RUM GONE?!?!"
> 
> Well, that's enough talk on my end, plus the ANs on AO3 can only be 5,000 characters, so on that note, let us start the game!

_ Chapter III _

_ A Bastion Half-Full _

As Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy looked around the  _ Highwind, _ a fond smile crossed their faces, although in Roxas' case, it was mostly because of Sora's memories of having been onboard the vessel, including their crash-landing in the Deep Jungle. While the cockpit only had space for the pilot and at most, six helmsmen, the lower decks of the ship were, in truth, much, much bigger than they looked on the outside. Although, as they took a closer look around the ship, they were quick to notice that a lot of things about it had changed. For one thing, it looked as though there had been a new system installed called "teeny ships," which seemed to be exactly what it said on the tin: small, remote controlled ships linked up to the  _ Highwind _ that seemed to be designed to both supplement the Gummi Ship in combat, as well as act as meat shields against certain types of enemy fire.

Before they could get too far into examining what other changes the Gummi Ship, a call came in on the ship's communicator, which Jiminy was quick to answer, bringing up the image of two chipmunks, one with a large red nose, the other with a large black nose.

_ "Howdy, everybody! How you all doin'?"  _ the red-nosed chipmunk asked with a bright smile.

_ "It's your favorite Gummi engineers here, ready for duty!" _ the black-nosed chipmunk reported.

"Oh my stars and garters! Chip and Dale, is that you?" happily asked Jiminy.

_ "Yep, that's us! Now that we've got the link-up with the Highwind up 'n' runnin', we'll be able to help you all better on your journey!" _ said Dale happily.

_ "An' the best part is, not only can we guarantee quicker repairs than before, but from here at the castle, we'll also be able to keep an eye on the worlds, and report any changes to you guys the first chance we get!" _ Chip added.

"Really? Well, thanks you guys," said Sora. "Oh yeah! We actually have someone else joining us on our adventure this time!"

Roxas took that his cue to step up. "Hi there. I'm Roxas, Roxas Seiiki. I'm Sora's-" the blonde started to say before the spiky brunette cut him off.

"He's my younger brother," Sora said with a certain authority in his voice and a certain look in his eyes that showed he meant every word he said. "Long lost, recently found, and if I understand it correctly, he was born about a year after I was, give or take. And he can use the Keyblade, just like me."

Upon hearing how Sora had decided to go about introducing him, Roxas' eyes widened in surprise. If he was being completely honest with himself, he hadn't expected his original self to introduce him to his friends and acquaintances in such a manner to begin with, let alone so quickly, regardless of the fact that he had fully disclosed what he could remember of his true origins and relation to the brunette, who had been surprisingly accepting of him. And yet, here Sora was, introducing him as his younger brother to two old associates of his from his very first adventure across the worlds.

_ "Well, howdy there, Roxas! It's nice to meet ya!" _ Dale cheerfully said as Chip beamed at the blonde.

"Uh, yeah. The same," Roxas said, still recovering from the surprise Sora had sprung on him.

_ "Well, you guys just worry about gettin' to other worlds and beating the Heartless. Leave the hard maintenance and technical analysis stuff to us!" _ said Chip.

_ "And as always…" _ Dale said before both he and Chip signed off together.

_ "HAPPY FLYING!" _

And with that, the communication ended and a map of the worlds appeared on the display. Unfortunately, there was only one pathway available to them, and from the looks of things, it only led to one other world besides Twilight Town. The other pathways, meanwhile, had a padlock symbol over them, while the worlds themselves were shrouded in large, greenish-bluish-purple clouds. If the crew of the  _ Highwind _ were to hazard a guess, these seemed to be the walls that divided each of the worlds from one another.

"Well, that's no good. There's only one place we can go," grumbled Donald as he brought up the image of the only world that was available.

"What? Only one?" said Sora as he took the pilot's seat of the  _ Highwind _ while the others strapped themselves in.

"Well, Master Yen Sid  _ did _ say that Ansem's defeat disconnected the worlds and rebuilt the walls between them… frankly, I'm surprised there's even one place we have access to, even if we can open gates that will allow us access to the rest of them, which alone is something of a headscratcher," Roxas admitted.

Goofy took a closer look at the single world that the four of them had full access to, and quickly realized there was something about it that the others seemed to have missed.

"Hey, fellers! I think it's a world we know!" the knight told the rest of the crew.

"Really? Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Roxas said, clearly excited to see a world that his original self- no, not original self, his  _ brother _ , had been to in the flesh rather than in just a shared memory or a trippy dream that looked like it was coming in through a TV with a bad signal.

"All right! Off we go!" Sora declared before he gunned the Gummi Ship's engine, and the four warriors blasted off to truly begin their next adventure across the worlds.

_ Meanwhile… _

Pete lumbered his way through the castle located in a district in the world of Hollow Bastion known as Villain's Vale. Although, in Pete's opinion "fortress" might have been a more accurate term for the structure he was currently in. Why was Pete in Villain's Vale, one might ask? He figured it was high time he reported to Maleficent on how building their army was coming along. At least, that's what he told himself.

In truth, he wanted to confirm the rumors of Maleficent's demise at the hand of that runt with the Keyblade and his former deckhand's dynamic duo of nimrods for himself. Rumors that, if he were to be honest with himself, he was beginning to worry were very much true.

"Maleficent! MALEFICENT!" Pete bellowed throughout the halls as he lumbered through the fortress, only to receive the exact same response he had received the last dozen or some times he had called out: complete and utter silence.

"This castle sure ain't what I expected'. No shine, no nothin'," muttered Pete as he continued wandering through the halls before he finally allowed the question he had been worried about slip through his lips. "What if they really  _ did _ finish her off? Oh, now what's gonna happen to our plan?!"

Almost as if on cue, a loud  _ caw _ sounded from directly behind Pete, prompting the chubby cat to jump a foot in the air and turn around to face the source.

Sitting on a nearby balcony was an all-too-familiar looking raven, one that Pete immediately recognized as the one who served as Maleficent's eyes and ears in the sky of whatever world she had happened to be on. And clutched in the bird's grasp was an equally familiar article of clothing, a black and purple robe that was the standard attire of the Mistress of All Evil herself.

One might have thought that perhaps Maleficent's pet had grown accustomed to being perched on the shoulder of the fairy to whom the robe belonged to, to the point where it had decided to continue to do so even after Maleficent had finally bitten the dust once and for all. Pete likely would have thought the same had an alarmingly familiar voice not spoken from what seemed to be the robe itself.

_ "Perhaps I misheard you. Who was it exactly you said was 'finished off?'" _ inquired the robe as it began to rise up from the ground, a decidedly solid shape beginning to form within it.  _ "Ah, Pete… you are late! And furthermore, did you really think I would, nay, COULD be bested so easily? Me, the Mistress of All Evil?" _

Pete could only stare in stunned silence as the robe finished rising up from the ground, the resurrected form of none other than a very much alive Maleficent clad within it, staff with a bauble as green as her skin atop it clutched firmly in her hand, black horned headdress, and all.

"Come," Maleficent said as her raven returned to its usual perch atop her shoulder. "There is much work to be done… as for our plan, you needn't worry. We shall yet eclipse every world with darkness, and when we do, they shall all be ours… then that wretched boy who wields the Keyblade and his pitiful pawns shall know the true meaning of fear when there is nowhere left to run from the full extent of my vengeance…"

_ A Short While Later, Near Hollow Bastion's Marketplace... _

Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy, having just arrived on the outskirts of a small town that surrounded a familiar-looking, yet somehow different-looking castle that looked as though it was undergoing some serious reconstruction and remodeling, ran up to a stone ledge that not only overlooked what seemed to be a small marketplace, but also provided them with a clear view of the aforementioned castle.

After a moment, Sora and the others were able to recognize the world that they had arrived on, although in Roxas' case, it was mostly because of the memories he had picked up from Sora while the brunette was having them restored.

"It's Hollow Bastion!" exclaimed Sora.

"Gwarsh, it looks really different now!" said Goofy.

"I hope Leon and the gang are doing okay," said Donald.

"Well, considering the fact that normal people are not only actually living here now as opposed to a year ago when Maleficent and the Heartless were running loose, but from the looks of things, have begun rebuilding the place and opened up some shops, I'd certainly assume they're doing alright," reasoned Roxas.

"Well, let's go and find out for certain, then we can introduce them to Roxas," said Sora, earning a collective nod from his three companions. 

However, before the group could move more than a couple of feet, they caught sight of something that quickly soured their mood. That something just so happened to be a small group of Soldier Heartless dancing on top of a nearby rooftop, their golden armor clanking away in what one could only assume was some form of merriment before vanishing into the shadowy portals that they usually spawned from.

"Uh-oh! Looks like we're gonna have to do some fightin'," Goofy said, worry evident in his voice.

"Why am I not surprised?" grumbled Roxas before he, Sora, Donald, and Goofy made their way into the marketplace proper. 

As they passed by a few folks, Sora, Donald, and Goofy were quickly greeted by several locals who seemed to recognize them in some way, whether it was because they knew them to be the heroes who had freed their world from the clutches of the Heartless under the command of Maleficent and their former ruler who had apparently fallen not only into darkness, resulting in his becoming the top dog among the Heartless, but had fallen into madness, be it before or after he casted aside his own body and soul, stories that Leon and the others had no doubt told them, because they'd crossed paths before in Traverse Town, or some other reason, much like in the case of Donald's Uncle Scrooge and his nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, who had apparently opened up a couple of shops in the marketplace and had been worried that their Uncle had finally blown his last fuse and blew whatever had made him finally snap like a twig to a smoldering pile of nothing, taking Sora, Goofy, and himself out in the process with a spell called "Zettaflare," which Donald proceeded to explain was a very, very last resort by virtue of being  _ the single most powerful Fire spell in his arsenal _ , and that they should pray to both God and Kingdom Hearts alike they never found themselves backed into a bad enough corner that he had no choice but to use its immensely destructive power.

As they continued through the marketplace and entered the residential district known simply as "The Borough," several locals also shot Roxas a few curious glances, suggesting that they seemed to recognize him from somewhere. Whether they somehow recognized him as Roxas or if they thought he was that "Ven" person the Good Fairies had mistaken him for, the blonde could not say for certain.

Regardless, as he looked around at the castle town that was currently under reconstruction, Roxas couldn't help but muse, "So… this is the world where I was born through your sacrifice…"

"Oh! Well, uh, then welcome home, Roxas," Sora said with a smile and nod.

Roxas shook his head. "No,  _ Twilight Town _ is home. After all, that's where I woke up after you became a Heartless, and its virtual knockoff is where I lived a normal life, or at least, so I thought at the time anyway. One way or another, Twilight Town is home, and Hollow Bastion is where I was born. There is a difference sometimes, you know," the blonde said.

"I get it," Sora said with a nod of understanding.

"Hmm…" Goofy said thoughtfully. "Y'know, Roxas, if you were born when Sora turned himself into a Heartless here in Hollow Bastion, then how come ya woke up in Twilight Town and not somewheres 'round here?"

Roxas thought about it for a moment. "You know… that is actually a  _ really _ good question. One that I'm not entirely certain  _ anyone _ really has an answer to, not even the Organization," the former Nobody admitted. "Maybe it was destiny, fate, or the whim of some higher power to put another chess piece on the board and make sure it survived long enough to actually make a few moves. Or maybe it was nothing short of a cosmic coincidence. Then again, I'm not really looking for an answer to that question. I am my own person now, with a heart, mind, and soul all my own."

Any further discussion on the matter was quickly cut short when a small beam of light that seemed to have some sort of wireframe ball inside it appeared in front of Sora, causing the spiky brunette to jump back in surprise, before it disappeared, although not for long as several other beams similar to the first appeared a few seconds later, putting the four warriors on guard.

"Hey, what's going on?" warbled Donald, preparing to summon his stave in the event that this was a new threat. It wasn't long before this notion was quickly dismissed by a new voice, one familiar to the four warriors, although in Roxas' case, this familiarity mostly came from the dreams he had had while his older brother was getting his memories restored.

"That's Claymore, the town's defense mechanism," the familiar female voice said, prompting the four warriors to look to the rooftops to find a young woman with black hair wearing a black headband, a black and dark gray vest with a black shirt that had white floral patterns underneath, dark tan shorts with a variety of pouches that no doubt held a variety of enchanted kunai, shuriken, and healing items, tan knee-length sneaker-boots, and a white wristband on one hand and a black fingerless glove on the other, smiling brightly down at them.

"Yuffie!" exclaimed Sora as he waved up at the self-proclaimed Great Ninja Master.

Yuffie looked as though she was about to say something further before she seemed to notice something. "Look out!" she exclaimed as more Claymores appeared, prompting Roxas, Sora, Donald, and Goofy to turn their attention to what the ninja had spotted just in time to see several Dusks finish spawning into existence.

Roxas couldn't help but sigh in annoyance as he summoned  _ Oathkeeper _ and took a similar combat stance to Sora as he summoned  _ Kingdom Key. _ "So much for shaking these guys off for the time being," the blonde muttered under his breath before slipping behind one of the Dusks with a slick and smooth reversal maneuver, causing the lesser Nobody's wriggling form to become tangled up, giving Roxas an opening to land a few solid strikes with his Keyblade.

"No kidding… I thought we'd at least deal with the Heartless for a little while or maybe visit a couple of different worlds before running into these guys again," replied Sora before guarding against a lunge from another Dusk, knocking it off its game long enough to land a few solid blows with  _ Kingdom Key _ , causing it to disperse in what seemed to be sparkles of light and thin, almost paper-like fragments that quickly dissolved into the nothingness from whence the Nobody they had once belonged to came.

This served as Donald and Goofy's cue to join in on the action. The knight began throwing his shield at anything that was white and wriggling as Donald let loose a barrage of Thunder spells on the Nobodies. Roxas and Sora, due to a lack of magical ability of their own at the moment, simply stuck to cutting through enemies with their Keyblades. To one watching the fight unfold as Yuffie was from overhead, one might be forgiven for thinking that it was like watching two of the exact same person fighting side-by-side, which in a manner of speaking, that was exactly what was going on. The two brothers, whether it was because they had once been the same person or if there was another reason, seemed to have an instinct that bordered on ESP that told them when to duck, dodge, or even  _ lean _ a certain way to provide the other with a clear shot at one of the Dusks, and even helped set each other up for certain combination attacks. This synergy would have likely remained unchanged had it not been for the arrival of a few new Nobodies that were decidedly not Dusks.

These new arrivals resembled strange swordsmen with distinctive cylindrical heads with six diagonal slits on the front, giving them the appearance of wearing warrior's helmets. The strange gray suits that these new Nobodies wore looked almost like robes that one would usually see ancient warriors from the Far East wear, with the Nobody emblem imprinted on their bell sleeves, from which their black, clawed hands were visible, and were equipped with a pair of thin, gray swords, whether they be in their hands or floating behind their backs in an x shape, or resting at their sides as though they were sheathed.

Upon making eye contact with these new arrivals, Roxas immediately felt a wave of unease and reluctance to strike them down that he could not quite explain or place, despite knowing that these were enemies, and much to his surprise, it not only seemed these new arrivals "felt" the same way, but that he could understand them, much like the Dusk that had stolen the photographs back in the Virtual Twilight Town.

**_"L-Lord Roxas…?"_ ** one of the swordsmen said in a tone that suggested shock and surprise.

**_"Is it truly you, my Shogun…?"_ ** a second asked with a certain reverence in its "voice."

**_"Our other lieges, even the other soldiers… they said that you-"_ ** a third started to say before Sora proceeded to strike it down, cutting its sentence short.

"C'mon, Roxas! Snap out of it!" Sora said as he swung  _ Kingdom Key _ at one of the other swordsmen, prompting them all to snap out of their trances, with Roxas doing the same, although for some strange reason, he felt really bad about destroying these Nobodies in particular as opposed to the Dusks. Regardless, once these new Nobodies had been dispatched, the Claymores that had been appearing and occasionally detonating throughout the fight vanished, which the four warriors took as a sign that the coast was clear, at least for the time being.

"Hey, you guys!" Yuffie called out to the quartet as she jumped down to street level to face them all. "I see you're still in top form!" she said as she beamed at Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

"What'd you expect?" asked Sora as he thumped his chest in pride. "Looks like you're doing well!"

"Well, what did YOU expect?" replied Yuffie with a proud expression before she shifted her gaze over to Roxas. "Hey there. I saw you in action with that Keyblade of yours back there, and I gotta say, you're pretty good. What's your name?"

"I'm Roxas. Roxas Seiiki. I'm Sora's bouncing, badass, baby brother," Roxas said with a proud smirk as he crossed his arms.

"Seriously?!" gasped Yuffie as she looked at Sora in surprise. "I didn't even know you  _ had _ a brother, Sora."

"Well, truth be told, I only found out recently myself. Felt like being on the business end of a direct hit by a crashing Gummi Ship when I found out, truth be told," admitted Sora with a sheepish chuckle. "But, yeah, Roxas is my long-lost younger brother."

"Well, then, nice to meetcha, Roxas," Yuffie said with a smile and nod.

"The same," Roxas replied with a smile and nod of his own.

"How are the others?" Donald asked the black-clad kunoichi.

"They're doing great! We're all busy doing whatever we can to help people settle back in after you took down Maleficent and Ansem, but apart from the occasional Heartless attack or surprise incursion from those white creatures, no one really has too much to complain about," replied Yuffie.

"Sounds to me like Hollow Bastion is a bastion half-full…" said Roxas, a pleased smile on his face. "Well, from what I can tell, this place certainly seems like it's doing much better compared to what Sora told me about it from his first trip here."

"Oh! Say, Yuffie, have you seen the King and Riku?" Sora asked the kunoichi, hoping that his old friends from his first adventure might have a lead on their whereabouts, considering they had been far more in the loop than most.

"Nope!" Yuffie replied happily as she started walking away, seemingly unaware of how disheartening Sora would find the news as his shoulders slumped in disappointment before turning around to face the group. "But, I had a feeling I'd see you guys again!" she added on just as cheerfully.

This immediately perked Sora right back up again. Adopting a serious expression and placing a hand on the tip of his front most spiky bang as he deepened his voice as much as his pubescent voice would allow in order to imitate another one of his old friends. "'We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other,'" Sora recited.

"Is that supposed to be Leon?" Yuffie asked with a shit-eating grin on her face. "Because if it was… that was actually pretty good!"

Sora smirked and rubbed his nose while Donald, Goofy, and Roxas chuckled before he spoke up again. "Speaking of Leon, are he and the others around here someplace? I wanna introduce them to Roxas and check up on them!"

"Yeah! Everybody's working on stuff over at Merlin's house! Follow me!" said Yuffie as she waved her arm over her shoulder. With a collective nod, the four warriors followed closely behind the kunoichi, excited smiles at the thought of reuniting, or in Roxas' case, actually meeting old friends.

_ At Merlin's House AKA The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee HQ… _

"All right, so today's first, and only, order of business," said Leon Squallheart, a tall, powerfully built man with long brown hair and a jagged scar running across his face clad a short-sleeved black leather jacket with red insignia on the back and a white shirt underneath, a pendant with a lion's head atop a cross, black pants with two brown and three black belts hanging loosely around his hips, one of which had a holster that held the collapsed form of his Gunblade, while a fourth black belt wrapped around his waist to actually keep his pants up, black leather gloves, and black leather boots as he sat at a small table with his fingers bridged. "What to do about the Heartless crawling all over the ravine."

Sitting at his computer terminal with a cigarette in his mouth, Cid Highwind, a gruff looking middle aged man with short blonde hair and a decent amount of stubble on his chin wearing a pair of welding goggles on his head, a grease-stained white t-shirt, blue jeans held up by a thick leather belt, and a pair of brown work boots, sighed. "Not really much we can do for now, 'cept enhance the security in town…" he said before turning to face his terminal and typing on his keyboard. 

"I'll tinker around a bit with Claymore's programming, see what I can do…" the middle-aged man said before heaving a sigh. "Man… it's gonna be another all nighter…"

"Sorry, Cid," Leon apologized to his old friend.

"Eh, it's my job," Cid said with a shrug before turning to face Leon. "But, if ya really wanna make it up to me, then  _ you _ can pull your own all-nighter patrolin' the streets for both regular Heartless an' them white Not-Heartless things that have been croppin' up lately."

"All right, all right," Leon said as he waved down the mechanic. "But… no matter how many all nighters we pull… there's no way we can fend them all off forever… we need to find a way to cut them off at the source."

Cid sighed as he turned around to face Leon and lounged back in his chair. "Problem with that is, we don't have enough firepower to just wipe 'em all out in a single shot. But, you're right, we can't keep playin' defense forever, so what're we gonna do?" the older man asked Leon.

"Well, we'll just have to get rid of them the old fashioned way, and take them out a few at a time," said a gentle female voice from nearby, causing both Leon and Cid to turn to see Aerith Gainsborough, a young woman with long brown hair tied into braids on either side of her face, one of which had a red ribbon tied into it, and wore a pink and white dress, carrying a tray that had two glasses of iced tea on it, while she carried a glass of her own in her free hand. "Here, have some iced tea."

Cid sighed and grabbed a glass from the tray. "The problem with that approach is that for every one of them monsters we beat, a whole 'nother swarm of Heartless appear… if only we had some kinda bomb that could just wipe 'em all out at once…" said Cid before taking a swig of his tea, only to promptly do a spit-take. "Dammit, Aerith! I told you not to put sugar in my tea!"

Almost as if on cue, the front door of the house swung open to reveal Yuffie standing there, a huge smile on her face as she declared, "HEY, EVERYONE! SORA AND HIS FRIENDS ARE HERE!"

And sure enough, standing right behind her was none other than the Hero of the Keyblade rocking some new clothes, the Captain of the Disney Castle Royal Guard, the Court Magician for that very same castle, and a fourth person with blonde hair that none of them recognized.

"Meet the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!" Yuffie announced as she waved her arm towards the other three people.

"We missed you!" Aerith cheered as she scooped Sora and Donald into a quick hug.

"Well, if you ain't in top shape!" said Cid as he rubbed his face to clean off whatever tea was still on it.

"I knew it," said Leon, a small smirk on his face.

Leon's greeting left Sora, Donald, and Goofy confused. "Knew what?" the spiky brunette asked.

"A while back, everyone suddenly remembered you three, all at the exact same time," Leon bluntly explained, confusing Sora, Donald, and Goofy even further.

"You… remembered?" Sora asked, still as confused as before, until it finally clicked for him, Donald, and Goofy. "Wait! Does that mean you forgot about us?!"

"Thanks!" warbled Donald in irritation as he crossed his arms.

"So, where you guys been all this time?" Yuffie asked, her hands on her hips as she spoke. 

"We were sleepin'" replied Goofy.

"Where? In cold storage?" asked Cid.

"I'm pretty sure it's a bit more complicated than that," Roxas said, drawing the attention of the other three natives of Hollow Bastion to him as he spoke.

"Who's the new kid?" asked Cid as he took a puff on his cigarette.

"I'm not a kid, gramps! And the name's Roxas!" Roxas snapped, before both he, Sora, and Cid were visited by a feeling of déja vu that left just as quickly as it came.

Regardless, Cid couldn't help but groan under his breath. "First Sora, now this kid. Why does everyone think I'm an old man?!" he complained to no one in particular, unaware of the fact that everyone else in the room, save for Roxas, were currently trying to suppress their laughter.

"That aside, it doesn't answer the original question… Roxas, was it? Who are you, exactly?" Leon said, a stern gaze in his eyes even as a smirk was on his face.

"Roxas is Sora's long lost younger brother that he didn't know about, apparently," Yuffie cheerfully explained to Leon and the others before the quartet could say anything. "And get this, he can use the Keyblade, just like his big brother!"

"Really, is that so?" Leon asked as he stepped closer to Roxas, eyeing him very carefully and making it clear that he was silently testing him.

While Roxas stood resolute, returning Leon's gaze with a fierce, determined one of his own while his right hand subtly moved to get ready to summon  _ Oathkeeper _ at the drop of a hat or an unspoken signal, everyone else knew what was about to happen. Sora and Yuffie subtly motioned for everyone to stand back, while Aerith got ready to summon a barrier to box the two warriors in to prevent the house and anything valuable or important from getting damaged or destroyed.

After all, Leon had done something similar with Sora when the two of them had first crossed paths, although that had been for the sake of knocking the kid out so that he, Aerith, and Yuffie could keep him safe from the Heartless long enough for him to get some proper rest and recuperate from the terrible ordeal he had undoubtedly just been through at the time. And while both Sora and Leon's stubborn warrior's pride would forever prevent either of them from admitting defeat, Donald, Goofy, Yuffie, Aerith, and Cid all had a mutual agreement that the only reason Sora had technically lost that fight was because the emotional, mental and physical exhaustion from everything he had just been through that fateful night had finally gotten the better of him once the adrenaline that had been fueling him in his battles against the Heartless as he fought his way through and around the Second District of Traverse Town in search of Riku and Kairi had run its course.

Not to say Sora, although he had Donald and Goofy for back up at the time, didn't have any  _ decisive _ victories against Leon. And not just Leon, Sora had even bested Yuffie when she and Leon had teamed up during the Phil, Hercules, and Hades Cups a year ago.

A moment later, everyone's collective hunch was proven correct when Leon pulled out his Gunblade and swung it at Roxas, who instinctively summoned  _ Oathkeeper _ to block the attack just as Aerith put the barrier up.

Roxas and Leon's impromptu spar went back and forth for the better part of ten minutes or so, with both parties landing some pretty solid shots on one another. Naturally, Sora was concerned for his younger brother, as were Donald and Goofy. However, they needn't have worried about the blonde, because it wasn't long before the match came to an abrupt and decisive end.

Leon managed to get Roxas in a blade lock before forcibly pinning  _ Oathkeeper _ down with his Gunblade, only to find Roxas smirking at him as he held out his left hand as though to summon a Keyblade.

"Surprise!" Roxas said as  _ Oblivion _ manifested in his free hand in a burst of shadow before Roxas slipped the weapon underneath Leon's Gunblade and used both it and  _ Oathkeeper _ to disarm Leon and send the Gunblade flying, leaving Leon wide open to a barrage of dual-wielding strikes, much to the shock and awe of the rest of Restoration Committee.

"Holy… Aerith, what the Hell did you put in my tea?!" Cid asked in awe, his eyes as wide as saucers as Roxas smirked at the surprised swordsman as he recovered his weapon and twirled both  _ Oathkeeper _ and  _ Oblivion _ in an unspoken taunt before continuing wailing on Leon. "Is that runt seriously using  _ two Keyblades _ ?"

"Nope, I'm seeing them too… he's like a Keyblade Samurai!" Yuffie exclaimed, a look of excitement and awe on her face as she spoke.

"Incredible…" was all Aerith could whisper at the sight before her until Leon finally fell onto his knee, defeated.

As Aerith lowered the barrier and got to work patching up both Roxas and Leon, the latter couldn't help but smile and laugh as he pulled himself to his feet. "Not bad… not bad at all… you've got good reflexes and some very impressive strength…" he said.

"Likewise," replied Roxas with a small smirk of his own.

"Well then, I think some proper introductions are in order. I'm Leon Squallheart," said Leon as he held out his hand.

"I'm Roxas, Roxas Seiiki," Roxas replied before dismissing  _ Oathkeeper _ and accepting the handshake. "Nice to meet all of you."

"The pleasure's all ours," Aerith replied. "I'm Aerith Gainsborough, and this is Cid Highwind, the town mechanic. It's nice to see that Sora has someone else who can use the Keyblade on the team."

"Even better, someone who's a bit more capable than Sora was back when we first met him in Traverse Town," Leon added on while shooting the spiky brunette in question a teasing smirk.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?! I beat you, remember?" Sora retorted.

"Oh boy, here we go…" mumbled Yuffie from nearby as she rolled her eyes as Cid, Aerith, Goofy, Roxas, and Donald tried to contain their chuckles

"You passed out. I didn't," Leon replied coolly.

Sora sighed in frustration, knowing this wasn't going to get him anywhere. "So, listen, we're trying to find Riku and the King. Have you seen 'em?" Sora asked the three members of the Restoration Committee that he hadn't asked yet, only for them to shake their heads in the negative.

"Right…" Sora said, sadness evident in his voice.

"Sorry," Aerith apologized on the group's behalf. "But, let us know if there's anything we can do to help, okay?"

Sora perked up a bit at Aerith's words. "Okay, thanks," he said with a smile and a nod.

"Don't go thankin' us just yet," said Cid, seriousness evident in his voice as he spoke.

"Hollow Bastion's got a problem. A big problem," Leon added on, looking and sounding just as serious as Cid did.

"Let me guess, it's the Nobodies and Heartless, isn't it?" Roxas asked with a serious look on his face.

"That's right," Yuffie confirmed with a nod and a determined expression.

"Sounds to me like you could use our help," Sora said with a determined expression of his own.

"Then let's cut to the chase," Leon said as he approached the four warriors. "Sora, Roxas, Donald, Goofy, we were hoping the four of you might give us a hand around here."

Sora scoffed, an amused expression on his face. "Like we're gonna say no?" he said, thumping his chest in pride before shrugging.

Leon scoffed. "I forgot who I'm dealing with here," he said with an amused smirk of his own on his face.

"Hey, what do you mean by that?" Donald asked as he threw Leon a warning look.

"Just think of it as a sort of 'Leon compliment,'" explained Aerith.

Leon then proceeded to make his way towards the exit of the house. "Follow me to the bailey. There's something you all need to see," he said before he departed.

Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy all made to follow them before they were stopped dead in their tracks by the sudden appearance of a burst of blue smoke and magic, which turned out to be none other than the owner of the very owner of the house in which they currently stood, in all his long beard and periwinkle blue robe clad glory.

"Oh! I thought it was you! Right on time," Merlin said with a kind smile.

"It's Merlin!" Donald cheered happily.

"Sora and the gang said they're gonna help out! And not only that, but they've got a new friend who wants to help out too!" Yuffie told Merlin cheerfully.

"Splendid!" Merlin happily cheered before approaching Roxas. "Merlin the Wizard at your service. A pleasure to make the acquaintance of the newest wielder of the Keyblade."

"How'd you know I could use the Keyblade?" Roxas asked, surprised.

Merlin laughed. "Any wizard worth his salt who has half the experience I have could easily sense the power inside your hearts," he said before pointing at Roxas. "Well, that and King Mickey sent me a missive from parts unknown about you. Furthermore, you still have your Keyblade out. Well, one of them anyway. I must say, it is rather surprising to encounter someone able to dual-wield Keyblades without any form of magical aid or special abilities such as yourself."

Roxas looked at his left hand, where  _ Oblivion _ was still firmly grasped. Quickly dismissing it, Roxas rubbed the back of his neck and gave a sheepish chuckle of embarrassment.

"Well, uh, anyway, Merlin, this is my long-lost, recently found, younger brother, Roxas Seiiki," Sora introduced the blonde on his behalf.

"Well, Roxas, I'm sure you'll be in good hands if you're travelling with these three, so we'll count on all of you," Merlin said with a smile and nod before he remembered something. "Oh, did you remember to give them the cards dear?" the wizard asked Aerith.

"Oh!" gasped Aerith, evidently having forgotten about this herself before she reached into a pouch on her side and pulled out three plastic cards which she held out to Sora, Donald, and Goofy. "Here… they're presents for you. Leon thought you might like to have them."

The three heroes each took a card from the mage and examined them before flipping them over to find their names and one other line of text. 

"'Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member,'" Sora read aloud, a huge smile forming on his face as he did.

"Membership cards!" Donald cheered happily.

"Kinda cool, huh?" Goofy admitted as he looked at his two friends.

Aerith turned to Roxas with an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry we don't have one for you yet, Roxas. We… didn't realize that you were coming with Sora and the others," she sheepishly admitted. "But, we'll have one ready for you soon, okay?"

"Eh, it's okay. I mean, even Sora didn't know I existed, so there's no possible way that any of you could have predicted it," said Roxas. "And thanks."

Sora, meanwhile, felt his grin grow a little more in excitement as he turned around to thank Leon for their presents, only to find that the man in question wasn't there. After a moment, Sora remembered what Leon had instructed the four of them to do.

"Oh no! Guys, we're supposed to meet Leon at the bailey, remember?" exclaimed Sora as he looked at his three companions with wide eyes.

"Oh, crap, you're right, Sora," Roxas said with an equal amount of alarm. "Come on, let's get moving."

However, before Sora and Roxas could even lean in the direction of the door, Merlin spoke up, stopping them in their tracks. "Now just a moment there, you two. Might I inquire about the current status of your magic abilities?" he asked the two Keybearers.

"Huh?" said Roxas, confused by Merlin's question.

"Oh, that's right…" Sora said, embarrassment in his voice as he spoke. "Well… about that… I kinda… regressed back to square one… somehow…"

Yuffie made a thoughtful sound. "Maybe you forgot it while you were asleep!" she suggested.

"That might actually be it in Sora's case, but I'm not sure what to tell you all in my case… I can't remember the first thing about magic, let alone any actual spells," Roxas sheepishly admitted with a shrug.

"Now, what am I to do with the two of you?" said Merlin before he heaved a sigh. "I suppose I'll have to lend you a few spells…"

On that note, Merlin flicked his wand, causing a bright aura of light to enshroud both Sora and Roxas. In that moment, the former Nobody and his original identity both learned Fire, Fire Ring, Blizzard, and Blizzard Blast.

"Thanks, Merlin!" said Sora with a big grin on his face while Roxas nodded his head in thanks before he spoke up.

"And on that note, we really should be heading out to the bailey," the blonde said, earning a nod from his three companions before the four of them took off out the door and made their way towards the bailey.

_ A Few Moments Later… _

Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy arrived at the bailey, their progress impeded only by a few Soldier and Shadow Heartless. Upon their entry, they spotted Leon leaning casually against the side of a large stone. As they approached, the four warriors quickly noticed that Leon's expression had hardened significantly more than it already more than it usually was, assuming such a feat was actually possible.

Once Sora and his team had drawn level with him, Leon pointed out the window and simply said, "Look at that."

As they followed Leon's index finger, Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy's respective jaws nearly followed suit. In the distance, the four warriors were able to make out a large, menacing fortress that seemed as though it had seen better days, presumably due to the fact that Maleficent more than likely used it as her original base of operations on this world prior to moving into the castle proper once Hollow Bastion became what it had been the first time Sora, Donald, and Goofy had visited. At least, if the Heartless insignia plastered at the very top of the tallest tower was anything to go by.

But, the fortress alone wasn't the cause for alarm. Gathering around directly beneath it was what looked like a black ocean. Except, upon closer examination, Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy could see that tiny yellow lights on virtually every inch of the ocean, indicating that wasn't water that turned black underneath the setting sun, but rather that the black ocean was in fact a MASSIVE army's worth of Heartless. Honestly speaking, Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy weren't sure what to be more concerned about: the Heartless armada that looked as though it could drown Hollow Bastion so deep into the darkness that it would be next to impossible to get it back out again, or that Leon seemed to be so…  _ nonchalant _ about the army of Heartless on the edge of town.

"We want to restore Hollow Bastion to what it used to be," Leon began to explain. "Who knows? Maybe we can even make it into something better. There's still a lot to do, but I'm sure Yuffie, Merlin, Aerith, Cid, Lightning, Hope, and I can handle most of the reconstruction and defending the town from the occasional Heartless incursion. The only things we  _ can't _ handle are that-" Leon said, pointing towards the sea of Heartless in the distance.

_ To be honest, I'm not even sure we can handle that many Heartless all at once… it's like a tide of demons down there… but, we don't really have much of a choice but to try unless we want this world to fall back into darkness for good… aside from that, who's Lightning and Hope? _ thought Sora, but before he could ask, Leon spoke up again, this time pointing at something else.

"And that," the Gunblade wielder said. Following Leon's index finger once again, Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy caught sight of what seemed to be a singular pair of Dusks making their way towards the armada of Heartless.

"Looks like they've sent some scouts," Roxas said quietly, prompting Sora and Leon to turn towards him.

"What?" Leon asked.

"Scouts?" Sora asked before something clicked with him. "Did you remember something about…?"

"It's not much, truth be told, but it would explain why we ran into more of them we got here," replied Roxas, knowing why Sora left his question unfinished. "Their bosses usually send out some Dusks or other types of Nobodies whose Commander has been destroyed to either see if there's something a specific world has to offer them to advance their goals, or to test the waters in terms of how many Heartless are on a given world and how powerful they are. And if they feel that world does have something to offer, or the temperature is just right, then they'll send one of their leaders to take a closer look or to carry out some other task. Why and how the Heartless are tied into this, I don't quite remember…" Roxas admitted.

"What're you talking about?" Leon asked, his gaze both suspicious and curious. "Do you know what's been really going on here?"

"Well… we do know that there's this guy, Pete, who's been going around plotting with the Heartless," explained Sora.

"More specifically, he was going around plotting with Maleficent, but considering the fact that he didn't even know she'd bitten the dust until we flat-out told him, I think its a safe bet that the guy isn't smart enough to tie his own shoelaces," Roxas added on. "What we need to put our focus into getting rid of first are those creatures in white, the Nobodies."

"Yeah, and those Organization XIII guys in charge too!" added Goofy.

Right as Leon was about to ask who this Organization XIII was and Roxas mentally braced himself for the discussion that would ultimately expose his true identity, nature, and connection with Sora, a deep, booming baritone voice called out from seemingly everywhere at once.

_ "You called?" _ the voice asked. While Roxas seemed to fully recognize the voice, if his unhappy expression was anything to go by, Sora, Donald, and Goofy all felt as though there was something familiar about that voice too.

"Speak of the devil and they shall appear…" muttered Roxas as he made his way towards a staircase opposite of the window he and the others had just been peering out of, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Leon following right behind him, looking wildly around.

_ "You're all doing… well," _ a second, calm, collected, and tranquil male voice said, although the way it ended its statement seemed to suggest that it was bitter for some unknown reason. At the sound of this man's voice, Roxas was visited by a strange desire to find the owner of this voice, grab his weapon from him, and beat him back into the non-existence from whence he came with it.

_ "And what's this?" _ the first voice said.  _ "Why, Roxas, you seem to have gone and cultivated yourself a heart! This truly calls for a celebration!" _

_ Something tells me that they don't mean the cake-and-ice cream kind of celebration, _ thought Sora as he summoned  _ Kingdom Key _ into his hand while Roxas did the same with  _ Oathkeeper _ and  _ Oblivion _ and Leon drew his Gunblade.

Sure enough, Sora's hunch was proven to be correct as two Dusks materialized a short distance away, prompting Sora, Donald, and Goofy to go after them. Roxas and Leon, who had already given the signal to close the gates leading into town, made to follow three heroes, only for two more Dusks to materialize right behind them, forcing the two of them to split off from the trio.

"We need to protect the gates! We've only just installed them, and we haven't gotten around to reinforcing them yet," said Leon as he and Roxas took down the two Dusks that had just appeared.

"Got it," said Roxas as he moved into position directly in front of the gates Leon had just mentioned.

The battle at the bailey seemed to be progressing smoothly enough as it was only Dusks and Creepers at first, the weakest on the Lesser Nobody food chain, so to speak. But, when the Nobody swordsmen from earlier arrived on the scene, Roxas began to falter in his attacks as the same feelings of guilt and reluctance that seemed to accompany striking these Nobodies down returned, making him falter once again.

Once there were only a few Nobodies remaining, one of the swordsmen and Roxas switched to a single blade, and the blonde could have sworn he heard a whistling noise play somewhere, namely the type associated with showdowns between two samurai about to clash in a single stroke battle.

It was when this stray thought crossed his mind that Roxas suddenly remembered what these Nobodies were called: Samurai. And the way they referred to him as their "Shogun." Was it possible that  _ he _ was their Commander in the Organization…?

**_"We were a family once,"_ ** the Samurai said in its strange way, seeming as though sadness and regret was in its voice.

Roxas said nothing but held firm as he and his  _ potentially _ former ally stared at each other. Then, at an unspoken signal, Roxas and the Samurai charged at each other. The Lesser Nobody's blade failed to make contact with Roxas, but the same could not be said of the blonde's Keyblade, which cut through the Nobody like a knife through hot butter.

The two stood there for a moment, as though to process what just happened, before the Samurai spoke.

**_"Forgive me… my… Shogun…"_ ** the Nobody said before it dispersed into nothingness.

As Roxas stared at the dying Nobody, he felt the guilt and remorse return in full force, only to be snapped out of it by the sound of amused, deep, laughter. A quick look around showed that the remaining Nobodies had been dealt with, prompting Roxas to reconvene with Sora and the others.

Just as Roxas, Sora, Donald, and Goofy reached the top of the stairs, the deep voice finally spoke up again.

_ "The Keyblade… a truly marvelous weapon. Were they only in more… capable hands," _ the deep voice taunted.

_ "Moreso in some cases than others," _ the calm voice added on.

This prompted more voices, presumably belonging to the other Organization members, to join the previous two in a group evil laugh, although, one of the laughs sounded more like a nervous chuckle than anything.

"Show yourselves!" demanded Sora as he held  _ Kingdom Key _ at the ready.

_ "As you wish," _ the deep voice said before a strange sound rang out, prompting the four warriors to look in the direction it came through just in time to see a man in a black leather coat with a hood that completely hid his face appear at the top of a nearby wall. The man then spread his arms out as though to beckon someone to him, and sure enough, five additional figures appeared through what seemed portals of darkness.

"Organization XIII!" exclaimed Goofy, a hint of panic in his voice before Sora and Roxas turned to look at him and Donald, causing both of them to nod, determined looks on their faces as Sora and Roxas turned to look towards the gathered Organization members.

"Good, now we can settle this!" Sora snarled, glaring at the Organization members.

"Hold up, kill the motor, Sora," Roxas said as he held out his arm to keep his brother back. "First off, none of us are anywhere near tough enough to take them all on at the same time, secondly, trying to take them all on might be exactly what they want, and I'm not gonna be a puppet in their game this time, and third… line forms behind me."

"Well, I must admit that this is something of a shame," the man who had called the others to his side just a moment ago, making it a safe bet that this Nobody was in fact the leader of the Organization, and Roxas' former boss. "I was truly hoping that we could all be friends."

As one, the members of Organization XIII laughed and disappeared through their Dark Corridors once more.

"Stop!" shouted Donald before he started to take off after the departing Organization members, only to trip and fall flat on his face when one of the Organization's members suddenly appeared in front of the four warriors, blocking their path and allowing the other Organization members to make a clean getaway.

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" warbled Donald in anger.

"Oopsie-daisy!" the man, who seemed to be older and had something of a surfer dude accent, said as he sarcastically shrugged.

"Move!" Sora shouted angrily as he held  _ Kingdom Key _ in his starting stance.

"Now, do you think that's polite, shutting me down like that?" the man asked.

"He said to get out of the way, so move it!" Roxas shouted as he raised  _ Oblivion _ at the hooded man.

"Huh?" the hooded man said as he turned to face Roxas. "Oh! Hey there, kiddo! I gotta admit, it's actually kinda good to see you again! You look good, and hey hey! Rockin'  _ two Keyblades _ ! Slick!"  _ Especially considering the fact that not even the ol' Master of Masters, as the legend calls him, was able to pull THAT off… not that I actually saw my old Master in combat that much, but still… _ the hooded man added in his head.

"Huh? Kiddo? What're you talking about?" Roxas asked, confused. While he could safely say that he didn't really remember much about his tenure as Number XIII of Organization XIII, he did know that Axel was the only friend amongst the members of the Organization, save for this "Number XIV," that may or may not have ever existed.

Although… now that Roxas thought about it… it felt like there actually  _ were _ members in the Organization that, while he wouldn't exactly call them  _ friends _ or even acquaintances, he had had a far more cordial relationship with, at least opposed to others.

"Wow. Ol' hothead was right about your memories being a complete blank with a capital B. But, moving right along, you guys all want me to step aside, right?" the hooded man said before letting out a hollow laugh. "As if! You guys can talk all you want, but that won't change a thing!"

On that note, Roxas, Sora, Donald, and Goofy all came together and entered into starting combat stances. "Then we're gonna MAKE you move!" the Court Magician boldly declared.

"And I thought hangin' out with Roxas would have made it pretty obvious that while something like that would work on me if I were just any old dude," the hooded man said before adding  _ In more ways than one _ in his head before continuing. "'Cept I'm not. I'm with the Organization! Nothing 'any old' about me!"

"Ha!" Sora scoffed. "Tough talk for someone who stood on the sidelines while his Nobody flunkeys did the fighting!"

"Oh, dear, I think you guys have the wrong impression," the hooded man said in mock despair as he wagged his finger.

"Oh, cry us a river, why don't you? Oh, wait, that's right, you lost your emotion privileges when you went and surrendered your heart to darkness! And for the record,  _ I'm _ still trying to figure out how and why I got my own heart," Roxas said.

"Whoa-hoo! Looks like you've finally gotten yourself some claws, there, tiger! In that case, why don't I remind you just how tough the crowd you and spiky over there just how tough the crowd you're dealing with really is!" the hooded man taunted as he summoned a pair of arrowguns to his side.

Upon seeing the weapons come out, both Roxas and Sora's angry glares seemed to intensify as they braced themselves for the inevitable battle that was coming.

Except, it didn't. Instead, the hooded man let out another hollow laugh as his arrowguns disappeared. "That's right! He used to give me those same exact looks! And I gotta hand it to you, kiddo, you rock that look just as well as the popsicle himself did!  _ Alarmingly _ so, actually…" he said.

Both Roxas and Sora gave each other a confused look before returning their attention to the hooded man. "I guess you think you can psyche us out by saying really random stuff!" Sora boldly retorted.

"Gee, I just don't know…" the hooded man said as he spread his arms out, as though silently daring either Keybearer to come charging at him.

If any of those present had been in the countryside rather than a crumbling castle town, there was a pretty solid chance that they would have heard some crickets chirping, both because of the time of day and because of the awkward silence that had fallen.

After a few moments of the awkward silence, the hooded man before the four warriors, the hooded man before them began to disappear into a Dark Corridor with a cheerful wave. "Be good boys now!" he said.

"Wait!" Donald yelled before charging after the departing Organization member and diving after him a few moments too late and fell flat on his face right as the Organization member disappeared completely. "Nuts! He got away!" Donald grumbled as he pulled himself off the ground.

Leon cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Well then, now that the coast is clear… does either one of you care to explain how these Organization XIII guys know Roxas in a way that seems to suggest that they're more than passing acquaintances?" the Gunblade wielder demanded of both the blonde and the spiky brunette.

Both Roxas and Sora heaved a sigh while Donald and Goofy looked very uncomfortable about the topic that had just been brought up.

"Well… considering the fact that the Organization seems to be interested in this world for some reason that more than likely bodes ill for everyone here… then I think the rest of the Restoration Committee will need to hear what I have to say," Roxas said, reluctance evident in his voice as he spoke. "Let's head back to Merlin's place, I'll explain everything when we get there."

_ Meanwhile, At Where Nothing Gathers In The Castle That Never Was… _

"Do my eyes deceive me?" Number III asked as he and the five surviving members of Organization XIII materialized into the room. "Does he really hold the power of the Keyblade? He is nothing but a boy. Furthermore, have we really allowed Number XIII to go galavanting off on his own without any repercussions? Heart or no heart, we should have destroyed him exactly where he stood."

Number II chuckled. "Did you forget where kiddo came from, or who he used to be? Come on, man, give the kid a chance! That Keyblade means he's straight as an arrow, he's pure of heart! And for all his anger issues, as his Nobody, XIII is the same way by proxy. Not that the same could be said for all of us here," he said.

"The boy had better be, or else he's as worthless as the traitor," Number VII snarled.

"Ooh, sounds like someone's still salty about Number XIII not only kicking their ass, but getting a heart before they did!" taunted Number II, causing Number VII to shoot him a murderous look concealed by his hood.

"I do truly hope they're all enjoying themselves on their adventure," Number X said as he played with his cards. "Number XIII most certainly has earned himself some enjoyment after all the hard work he's done for us. And on top of that, he's the first of our number to beat such impossible odds and acquire his own heart, and without the aid of Kingdom Hearts to boot... it makes me wonder if he and his new friends would like a  _ hand _ to determine their fates."

"Hey, as long as it works in our favor," Number IX said with a shrug. "We can let them do what they want for a while, then we can all jump in if needed. I mean, it doesn't look like Roxas remembers how we plan to get Kingdom Hearts to begin with, so…"

"Those are bold words coming from you. Are you saying you'll volunteer to take care of it if things go wrong? Huh?" Number II questioned, although he seemed to know full-well what the answer would be.

"What?! Me?! No, you have the wrong guy, I'm not comfortable with that," Number IX immediately denied.

"You act as though you have a conscience," Number III observed, seeming as though he was unamused. "When was the last time any one of us felt anything?"

"Truer words were never spoken," Number X agreed before placing his cards back into his coat sleeves. "Well, I suppose the fun will have to wait."

A moment of silence passed amongst the group before Number VII spoke up again. "Tell me, do you know what happens to those who lose their true purpose? Inevitably, they destroy themselves. If I had a heart, I would actually be surprised that Number XIII hasn't already. After all, I was under the impression that the boy would never awaken unless he rejoined with him to some degree," he told the group at large.

"Dude, we get it, you're still sore about Roxas kicking your ass on his way out of the castle," Number IX muttered, his eye roll concealed by his hood while the others nodded in agreement with him… for a change.

Number VII was about to snap at Number IX until the Organization's leader spoke up, quite literally from on high as his throne was the tallest in the room.

"Gentlemen," Number I called out, his baritone voice echoing throughout the room as he spoke. "The Hero of The Keyblade has embarked on a new adventure. You will all spread seeds along his path, and he will water them, allowing them to bear fruit that will allow our Kingdom Hearts to become complete, and with it, ourselves."

"And Number XIII?" asked Number VII, clearly wanting to know what the plan was in regards to Roxas.

"Leave him be for now," Number I instructed. "Any who wield the Keyblade can be of benefit to our designs. Should he step out of line… then remind him of the power that he gave up when he left us."

"Now, go… and make sure their adventure is one that they will remember… for once."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus concludes Chapter Three! Well, it might have taken a bit longer than I originally planned, but I think I did an okay job with it. Anyways, allow me to go ahead and confirm that yes, the Hope and Lightning mentioned in this chapter are Hope Estheim and Lightning Farron from the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy. And yes, Serah does exist in this AU as well… and Lauriam/Marluxia is in fact their father. And also like her father, Serah has become a Heartless and Nobody. While Serah's Heartless is completely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, her Nobody on the other hand… well, if you've played Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII and beaten the game, I'm pretty sure you can hazard a guess as to who Serah's Nobody is. Also, she'll be rolling with the VERY MUCH HUMAN Gullwings.
> 
> Anyways, if you liked what you saw here, then be sure to bookmark, kudos, and comment, and I'll see you guys next time as we begin the Land of Dragons/China arc!


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